


Shadows of Konoha: Bonds

by Amora_Journeys



Series: SOK [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-05-10 09:46:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 23
Words: 295,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5581075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amora_Journeys/pseuds/Amora_Journeys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke Uchiha has been running ever since the Fourth Shinobi War. But everyone has their limits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Power

**Author's Note:**

> -This is a sequel to my fic Shadows of Konoha. It's possible to read this one without reading the first one, but no whining if you get confused.
> 
> -I began this fic before the ending of the manga, therefore I have my own retelling of events that happened during the Fourth Shinobi War. Most notably, Naruto and Sasuke did not come to terms and Sasuke fled following the war.
> 
> -If you're a newcomer to my style of writing... good luck.

Sasuke Uchiha stared at the ragged edge of kusanagi. His grip tightened in anger. The blade rattled in the loose hilt. The stench of the swamp clung to the gaunt bones of his face. The Uchiha Clan emblem was pressed against the slick moss covered tree. Years of toil has mutated the proud white section of the Uchiha fan to black.

Sasuke snapped up at the sudden sound of cloth brushing past leaves. He stared out towards the still green water. A crocodile dipped under the surface and created a ripple that traveled towards him. He could never trust his eyes anymore.

Sasuke activated his sharingan. Immediately he noticed details he couldn't see before. On the other side of the bank, the ground had been impressed underneath a soft footprint. The slight movement of leaves was more than just the wind.

Sasuke leaped, just as a barrage of shuriken rained down on the space he had just vacated. He landed on the surface of the still water. Ripples traveled underneath his feet. Sasuke flipped backwards as the maw of a water dragon lifted into the air.

Lightning crackled along the edge of kusanagi like a flock of disturbed crows. Sasuke spun, cutting through the water infused jutsu to face the sturdy metal of a kunai. Sasuke stared into the blank white mask of a Kiri Hunter-nin. Sasuke perceived the twitch of muscle, avoided the kunai's thrust, and countered a quick swipe across the hunter-nin's neck.

The brittleness of Sasuke's sword butchered the cut, stuck awkwardly on the bone, and it resisted when Sasuke attempted to pull it out. He whipped around, sucked air in his chest to fan the bellows and released a hell of black fire onto the hunter-nin coming behind him. With a twist of his wrist, Sasuke wrenched loose his sword and set off at a run down the river.

His black flames were like a beacon and he knew if he didn't leave soon, hunter-nin from every country would soon be on his tail. Sasuke was an Uchiha and he didn't run away, but he had enough reason to understand the importance of a tactical retreat.

Shadows flitted on both sides of the bank. A green mist, with the stench of the rotten swamp thickened and condensed around him. Sasuke focused his sharigan, perceived a disruption in the mist, and jumped over a fuma shuriken. Sasuke raised kusanagi to deflect the approaching katana and sent a charge of lightning through the blade.

A crack as soft as a ripple of water.

Then shards of metal shattered into the air. The hunter nin's blade cut through skin and caught on bone before Sasuke jumped away. Blood rapidly stained the sleeve.

Sasuke stared at a broken kusanagi with awful detail. The fragment he held formed a ridge of menacing mountains. The cracks were as deep as broken ice. Sasuke lifted his head to reveal the full weight of an eternal mangekyo sharingan, made all the more powerful by Sasuke's anger.

The hunter-nin died screaming in a hellfire of blackflames.

Sasuke didn't bother to wipe the blood dripping from his eye as he sped down the winding river of the swamps. He skidded to a stop at the sight of four Leaf Hunter-nin waiting at the river's mouth.

Sasuke threw down one of his last smoke bombs. Then he swiped the blood from his wounded shoulder and slapped it as a bloody handprint on the summoning scroll.

Sasuke tightened his hands around the feather of his summon as they emerged from the smoke toward the clouds. Sasuke whipped his head around at the sound of caws and found a murder of crows chasing after him, following far enough at a distance to keep out of range of Sasuke's fire jutsu.

Sasuke urged his summon faster but the large bird of prey couldn't outrun the small darting birds. Sasuke broke through the clouds and the sun screamed into his eyes. Then he released his summon and fell. The wind rushed around him, billowing his tattered clothing and whipping his long outgrown hair about his face.

The murder of crows dived after him, but not fast enough to catch Sasuke before he dived into the sea.

The tide washed Sasuke to shore. He coughed salt water from his throat as he dragged himself through the sand. He collapsed. The exhaustion racked pain through his lungs, sand clung to his forearms, and the heat of the sun melted down his neck.

Finally Sasuke deactivated his sharingan and the pain in his temples eased. As the pain eased, the world around him began to blur. What had once been the sharp veins of a palm tree was now an indistinguishable mass of green. Sasuke took a breath as he watched the sky, then tensed at the sight of a black dot in the clouds.

Sasuke reactivated his sharingan. That black dot came into clearer focus to reveal one of the crows from earlier. The fire in Sasuke's lungs had spread to his legs when he pushed himself onto his feet.

Sasuke Uchiha kept running.

* * *

It has been a long time since Sasuke approached civilization. He dragged his feet toward the hard gates of Iron Country's capital. The samurai guards at the gate didn't stop him, mistaking one of the world's most dangerous international criminals as a mere beggar.

Sasuke bristled in annoyance at the sudden noise and congestion of the crowd. His hand twitched toward the broken sword hidden in his belt. Sasuke plowed through the shoulders of those too stupid to be in his way.

Sasuke finally came to a stop. He squinted at the faded kanji written on the unhinged sign. He stared at the closed down shop and he has never felt such exhaustion as he did not. Sasuke reached out his hand and plucked someone from the crowd.

"What happened to this shop? Where did the owner go?" Sasuke demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a tourist." The man shivered as he stared into the wrath of Sasuke's eyes.

"You! Public disturbances are not allowed."

Sasuke craned his neck toward the pair of samurai that were approaching him. Immediately, Sasuke activated his sharingan and grew smug to watch the samurai take a step back in hesitation. Then they gathered their fortitude and placed their hands to their swords.

Sasuke shoved the civilian out of his way. He reached for kusanagi, and then remembered. He would have reached for a kunai but he ran out of those a long time ago. Instead, his stomach growled, a loud roaring restless beast.

The samurai charged him. Sasuke could see every fold of iron that went into forging their armor, every drop of sweat drenched onto those steel plates, and every weathered year pressed into the hilt of their swords. Sasuke moved to evade the quick draw of their blade.

But his body didn't move as quickly as he wanted it to.

Sasuke winced and was very much surprised to find a sword hilt had suddenly slammed into his gut. A force of chakra knocked him off his feet and he went crashing backwards into the ruin of the closed down shop. Iron pinned him to the floor. A fallen beam crushed his wrist and prevented him from using any jutsu to escape.

Sasuke's sharingan deactivated, no longer able to maintain it in his physical condition. The blurry forms of the samurai approached.

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes to the soft blur of pink cherry blossoms. He winced, pulled himself up from the futon, and immediately studied his surroundings. Pinned to a hook on the wall was Sasuke's shirt, still torn in rags but cleaned. It's been a long time since Sasuke saw color in the Uchiha emblem.

There were other clothes provided for him, fresh and crisp, but Sasuke put on his old rags. He slid his shirt over the bandaged wound on his shoulder, courtesy of the hunter-nin he met in the swamps. It had gotten infected over the past few weeks. Once again, unwanted, Sasuke's stomach growled. He ignored it for its disobedience.

The screen panels in the room were drawn back. THey allowed a view of the gardens and cherry blossoms that were toiled from the harsh Iron terrain.

Sasuke tensed when he heard approaching footsteps. His eyes frantically searched for a weapon, found nothing in the room that would suffice, and prepared a jutsu instead. The door to his room slid open. A samurai bowed before him.

"Where are my things?" Sasuke demanded. He didn't have much to begin with but he couldn't afford to lose his Hawk Summoning Scroll.

"Uchiha-sama, the Shogun will see you now."

The tension in Sasuke's shoulders eased. He knew if they wanted to kill him, they would have done so already. These people wanted something from him and he planned to take full advantage of their hospitality.

Sasuke followed the samurai up the narrow stairs. Servants bowed as he passed, and a small part of Sasuke, the part that contained his dignity, wallowed in the acknowledgement of respect. The door slid open.

Mifune hadn't changed much since the last time Sasuke saw him, but when you're that old, there was little else time could do to you but add a wrinkle or two. Mifune sat down a cup of tea and motioned to a tray of food across from him. "Uchiha-san, feel free to eat."

Sasuke's composure might have been compromised too much when he felt a sudden need to rush. He sat down before the tray, didn't care whether or not it was poisoned, he abandoned 'itadakimasu' with his manners, and attacked the food spread out before him.

"Who would have thought that the last Uchiha almost dies of starvation?" Mifune mused. Sasuke shot Mifune a smoldering gaze, but never stopped shoveling food into his mouth, hardly savoring the taste. Mifune sipped on his tea and allowed his guest to finish his meal.

The moment Sasuke was finished, "Where is the blacksmith, Kimura Toshio?"

Mifune was not harried by Sasuke's haste. He savored his tea.

"I'm afraid Toshio died years ago. There is no longer a blacksmith alive that can fix Kusanagi." Mifune gave a mournful nod toward the weathered hilt in Sasuke's belt.

Sasuke rose to his feet, but only after finishing his meal. As far as he was concerned, he no longer had any business in the Land of Iron.

"Sasuke Uchiha, aren't you tired of running?"

Sasuke cocked his head and looked down on the old samurai. With a sneer, he replied, "I don't need any help from you."

"I think you do," Mifune replied. "I can offer you asylum and give you a place where you can hide from the hunter-nin. I have met many who run towards my borders to escape their past. I am fully aware of how these hunter-nin operate. A hunter-nin's most effective weapon is psychological. The best won't try to capture you, but do just enough to wear you down. What they lack in strength is substituted by their vast reservoir of patience. Maybe the hunt will take days, weeks, or even years, but eventually even the strongest of ninja will break. The hunted get tired of running, they fall down on their knees, and beg for death. Will the last Uchiha die begging?"

Sasuke met the hard iron of Mifune's eyes with a glower. But deep in Sasuke's reason, he knew it was true. He was out of kunai, smoke bombs, and shuriken. Kusanagi has betrayed him. He hasn't had more than a few hours' sleep in two years. "What do you want?"

"You are going to assassinate the Third Tsuchikage."

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked indifferent, as if someone had just informed him that it was raining while standing outside in during a spring rain. "I thought the Land of Iron was a neutral country."

"The Land of Iron is a neutral country," Mifune corrected, "and we certainly can't predict the whims of international criminals. Currently, Oonoki is suffering from an illness. He will be vulnerable during the Jounin Exams."

"I see," Sasuke brooded.

"You succeed and Iron Country will offer you safe haven."

Sasuke raised his chin and declared, "you will also teach me what you know of kenjutsu."

Mifune smiled at Sasuke's attempt to bargain a Tsuchikage's life. "I haven't taken on a student in so long…" Mifune felt the decay of his bones. "Is there someone you want to kill?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and could taste the overwhelming flames of hatred that has kept him going for so long, and the bitter after taste of defeat.

"I accept our agreement," Sasuke replied, even though Mifune hadn't audibly consented to Sasuke's modification of the bargain.

Mifune sipped his tea in the silence of his unanswered question. He watched Sasuke walk from the room wearing hatred like armor.

* * *

They once called him Ōnoki of the Both Scales, bestowed upon him during the Second Shinobi War because of his ability to level out a battlefield. Nowadays, he could barely level out a cough.

From his bed, Ōnoki could see the mountain that protected and supported Iwagakure out of his window. Those old mountains were still as rigid as when he was a kid. They never bowed nor did their backs ever break.

Ōnoki blamed his bed. It was too soft. Beds simply were not meant for the hard backs of ninjas. He sincerely believed that if he has spent his entire life sleeping on the cold hard ground, his back would have never gone soft on him.

His chest quaked and erupted coughs of blood down his chin. Ōnoki knew everyone was waiting for him to buckle under his pride and finally send a message to Tsunade-hime for assistance. But his stubbornness – that at least will never bend. He had to hang on just a little while longer, at least to see his granddaughter make Jounin.

Ōnoki's chakra tensed when the stones whispered of an intruder. The liver spots that dotted his hand clenched the sheets as he forced his back to sit up. Wind rushed through his bed-robes as he flew and barely missed the lightning jutsu that seared into his soft feathered bed. About time someone destroyed it.

"Who sent you?" Ōnoki demanded as he floated in the air and analyzed the intruder covered in nondescript black.

The intruder pulled down his black cowl and activated the distinctive red eyes in answer to the Tsuchikage's question. There was only one person left alive with those eyes. Unless Madara came back to life, again. That bastard.

"Which country hired you?" Ōnoki asked after observing the smaller frame which betrayed the younger Uchiha. He thought it was a devious tactic for a country to hide behind the actions of an international criminal. Ōnoki somewhat felt smug at the efforts someone has gone through to kill such an old frail man such as he.

Then Ōnoki blasted from the ceiling with rocks molded over his arms. Dust shrouded the sudden wreckage of the Kage's tower. Thankfully, Ōnoki's assistants were used to it and they could build another one in seconds. Ōnoki lifted into the air and searched for the intruder among the dust.

Ōnoki erected a wall of earth between him and the sudden eruption of black flames. With instincts honed from years of battle, Ōnoki unconsciously began to turn as a chirp of lightning struck from behind.

The tense molecules of chakra grazed against Ōnoki's cheek right before the wind rushed through his robes and vaulted him away from the attack. Ōnoki released lungs full of fire, targeting the ragged visage of a fan.

The inferno of heat swept across Sasuke's body and melted fabric into his skin. Scraps of cloth drifted to the dirt, lit like fireflies by embers. Sasuke stared as the Uchiha emblem burned away into nothingness.

Sasuke's vision rimmed red with rage. He looked up at the mountain that overshadowed him, then began to dwarf him. The Tsuchikage threw the mountain forward.

The mountain broke on the back of Susanoo.

Sasuke darted out of the dirt, perceived the infamous dust technique bolting towards him, twisted out of its path, and another mountain range crumbled behind him. Out of the omniscient dust, Sasuke emerged and a kunai landed in the Tsuchikage's chest.

Ōnoki grumbled. When he was younger, he could throw five mountains without so much as a blink. Now, his back simply wasn't what it used to be. He hurt in sometimes odd and random places. He moved slower, slow enough for some upstart arrogant young ninja to finally catch him.

* * *

The wind rushed through Sasuke's hair as he fell from the roof and twisted as the ground rapidly approached his face. Sasuke outstretched his arm. A breeze swirled around his palm, flickered out of his control, and then a gust barely padded his fall. Sasuke fell against his shoulder with a grunt.

Then Sasuke pushed himself from the ground and tightened his fist around his growing control of wind chakra. It had taken him a year to fully master the Earth affinity. Sasuke sat up and testily put his hands together in a series of seals. Imprinted in his sharingan was the memory of a battle from years ago.

A translucent cone began to form between Sasuke's palms. After a few seconds of concentration, the dust release technique backfired and Sasuke was thrown backwards, through the wall of his house, and into the koi pond on the other side. Drenched, Sasuke gave a smug smile. He had expected the technique to backfire, but with his growing control of the wind affinity, he was getting closer to the power of the Tsuchikage.

"Musashi-sama, your appointment with the Shogun is in a few minutes."

Sasuke didn't flinch at the pseudonym. After a few years, you eventually get used to what people call you. Sasuke climbed out of the pond, dragged his weighed clothes toward the porch, and sat down overlooking the torn garden. In the right corner, a path of shrubbery never grew back after being burned down by an altered form of amaterasu. A sinkhole, the result of an earth jutsu that went awry, has never been fixed. This poor garden has weathered Sasuke's years.

Without comment, Sasuke's apprentice, Kusunoki, began to repair Sasuke's damaged shoulder. After the first few months in Iron Country and after injuries that had rendered Sasuke immobile, Mifune went to great lengths to find Sasuke a personal medic. It was rare for an individual to be born with a substantial amount of chakra in Iron Country, and when discovered they were typically forced to become medics for the samurai corps. Instead, Kusunoki was offered an apprenticeship under Sasuke's tutelage.

"You're overcompensating again. Apply the chakra evenly," Sasuke observed. Sasuke wasn't a medic ninja but there were some basics even he could help the kid with.

Kusunoki, whose chakra was seen as a pariah amongst his family, jolted at the criticism even though Sasuke's voice didn't contain any malice but a cool observation of facts. "I deeply apologize, Musashi-sama."

Sasuke gruffly ignored the boy's insecurities. "When I return we will commence with your genjutsu training."

It was forbidden to teach anything other than medical ninjutsu or kenjutsu, but this kid did not have sufficient chakra control to be an accomplished medic ninja. Sasuke knew the kid's creativity and attention for detail would excel in genjutsu if given the opportunity. Sasuke refused to let such talent go to waste because of some idiotic cultural restrictions.

When Kusunoki finished repairing Sasuke's shoulder, they returned inside Sasuke's abode situated thankfully on the edge of the city. Sasuke's stood patiently as Kusunoki began to apply the samurai armor to Sasuke's person. The top of Sasuke's head was shaved, only allowing enough hair for the chonmage. The helmet was applied. The katana and wakizashi marked Sasuke's status as a samurai.

If anyone from Konoha saw him now, Sasuke doubted that they would even recognize him. Fully integrating himself into Iron Country's samurai corps had allowed him to completely disappear from the hunter-nin's radar.

At first Sasuke hadn't thought he would prefer the bulk of a samurai's armor, but it had been constantly modified to combat ninjas. The armor he wore was light as a ninja's hitai-ite and as quiet as a ninja's footsteps. Sasuke had grown almost comfortable in the sturdy outerwear.

Sasuke left for Mifune's palace in the middle of the capital. The military center of Iron also served as the capital. Mifune, as shogun, was the ultimate authority. The Iron military didn't bother bending to the whims of an emperor or daimyo.

Sasuke walked the paved roads as a locomotive whistled loudly in the distance. Ninjas never saw the point of trains when they could simply outrun one, but it was the foundation of bulk trade throughout Iron Country. The citizens walked underneath the shadows of factories that produced goods in bulk, from textiles to metallurgy.

A constant black smog always hung in the air and at times would produce flurries of black snow. Sasuke hated it and felt as if it was weakening his lungs to breathe it in. But no one else seemed to notice, from the samurai whose armor were beginning to be mass produced to the citizens who left the factories smudged in dirt and exhaustion, but they had a job and were the ones to provide the vital labor that contributed to the abundance of wealth pouring into the country.

Sasuke always carried the sense that Iron Country didn't plan to stay neutral for long.

Sasuke approached the large fortress that seemed to keep a watch on everything in the city. Where most castles were made of stone and wood, this one was made of iron, almost the size of a giant metal bijuu.

Mifune was waiting for Sasuke in the dojo when he arrived.

Sasuke bowed, stepped forward in his socks, and unsheathed his sword. Even though Sasuke had learned all he could from Mifune a year ago, these sparring matches were now nothing but an excuse for Mifune to keep a constant check on Sasuke's activities.

"Still training?" Mifune asked as he unsheathed the sword. As expected, they began to circle each other, looking for openings they knew the other would never give on purpose. "Will there ever be an end to your training?"

"No," Sasuke decided. At least, not until he became strong enough to regain or surpass the power he had during the Fourth Shinobi War, before the Sage of the Six Paths took back the rinnegan.

Mifune smiled approvingly. "A samurai's blade should always be sharp." As if to test his words, Mifune stepped forward.

Even without his sharingan, Sasuke deflected the attack with ease. Sasuke frowned. This exercise simply didn't challenge him anymore and he quickly grew bored and uninterested.

Mifune capitalized on Sasuke's complacency, flipped the grip on his sword, and used the hilt to knock Sasuke in the head.

"Going easy on an old man?" Mifune asked when Sasuke turned and found the sword point at his neck.

"Must we continue to do this?" Sasuke asked annoyed. "Just ask your questions."

"You are still arrogant and impatient," Mifune said disapprovingly. "Two years and I have yet to beat those flaws out of you."

Nevertheless, now that Mifune had the swordfight he wanted, Sasuke bowed out and exited the dojo floor. Mifune could only narrow his eyes at his ambivalent student. Any number of his samurai would die to receive the training Sasuke had been given. But with Sasuke's sharingan and his natural physical abilities, he quickly exceled through Mifune lessons. But being a samurai was more than just sword-fighting, it was about building character - something that Mifune thought Sasuke lacked, especially when unmotivated.

"Come." Mifune motioned to Sasuke. They walked through the halls of the palace. "For a ninja, you are perhaps one of the best swordsmen I have ever seen. Although, your skill is built atop the mentors you have watched."

Even though Mifune was criticizing the sharingan, Sasuke only heard a few select words. "One of the best?"

"There was one ninja, a leaf ninja in fact, that was on par with my sword techniques in my prime." Mifune acknowledged his lengthy memory.

"Where is he?" Sasuke asked.

"He killed the Uzukage, his wife, and children in a private suite during a Jounin Exam. Per the neutrality agreements of the exams, Konoha had him killed. But the event practically started the Second Shinobi World War."

Sasuke frowned. It wasn't the fact that Konoha was willing to sacrifice a ninja for an act they had probably ordered him to do that unnerved him but to realize that the darkness of Konoha casted a shadow much larger than just Itachi.

"His name was Namikaze Sagen."

Mifune watched a glower form over Sasuke's face. With Sasuke, you simply had to find the right motivation. Mifune slid open the door and entered the room where a set of armor was displayed on a mannequin. "What do you think?"

"Hn," Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as he mused on the new information.

"Use a fire jutsu on it. The strongest you have that isn't Amaterasu," Mifune prodded.

To amuse the old man, Sasuke's hands quickly formed into seals. An inferno sprung from his lungs and heated the metal room as if they were inside of a furnace. Sasuke's interest was suddenly piqued when the armor emerged from the flames unscathed.

"Earth jutsu," Mifune suggested.

A rock shattered against the armor. Wind barely scuffed it. Sasuke's raikiri didn't form a dent. Instantly afterwards, Sasuke activated his sharingan and studied the armor.

Mifune said smugly, "The armor is laced with chakra through every fold of metal, which helps it absorb opposing chakra attacks. Only if you hit it with a blunt hammer, then you will make a dent."

Sasuke stood back, and mimicked the same seals he used in his fire jutsu. Flames spewed forth from his mouth, a rather weak attack, but he maintained a constant stream. After several minutes Sasuke finally let up and studied the melted and distorted break against the chest plate.

"It doesn't do well against a constant application of chakra," Sasuke noted.

And there were times when Mifune was impressed by Sasuke's genius. He hadn't even considered testing the armor in that way. "Well, this is just a prototype. It will take years before Iron Country even has the means to mass produce it."

"I want one," Sasuke decided immediately.

Mifune chuckled as if amused by a petulant demanding child. "In time," Mifune promised. Mifune turned for the door to mark an end to their session.

As they left down the stairs, one of Mifune servants raced forward in haste. "Shogun, your afternoon appointment is here early."

If Sasuke had his sharingan activated, he would have noticed the crease in Mifune's forehead and the existence of a slight frown. But Sasuke didn't.

When they walked down the stairs, Sasuke found Mifune's "appointment" leaning against the opposite wall. From this distance, Sasuke could barely make out the features of the feminine face but the style of dress suggested this new guest was an onnagata from the kabuki theatre.

Finally, Sasuke felt the tension in the room. Realizing he had stumbled upon one of Mifune's sexual romps and knowing that the man usually kept those affairs private, Sasuke immediately bowed and excused himself from Mifune's presence. Sasuke was quick out the front door without another look behind him.

* * *

Sasuke waited impatiently for his wounds to heal. Annoyed since he had left Mifune's place, but not sure why. Sasuke had pushed his training of the wind affinity but he hadn't had the same success he had that morning, which further enraged him, and further had him jumping off of more buildings. Eventually, he came away with a limp, a broken arm, and various bruises and abrasions.

"Musushi-sensei," Kusunoki's voice wavered but had his eyes set on Sasuke's injuries. "Don't you think this is madness?"

Sasuke snarled and in his anger and frustration lashed out. He gripped a hand around Kusunoki's throat and snatched him forward. "Madness is training my ass off all my life and still only being second-best. Just heal me and shut the fuck up."

Kusunoki was thrust away and the boy gasped for air as he fell against the mat. Kusunoki reached with trembling fingers to the scars on his neck where Sasuke's fingernails had clung too deeply. But he was used to Sasuke's sudden bouts of rage, especially during a bad training day. He gathered himself, picked himself up, and focused on his duty. He finished healing Sasuke without another word.

Sasuke's jaw tightened and reasoned that the kid needed to toughen up anyways. After Kusunoki finished, he began to alter the room, and lay out the futon for Sasuke. The pane was slid open slightly to allow a breeze. A sliver of moonlight filtered into the room. Sasuke laid down on the futon.

"Is there anything else you need?" Kusunoki said with bowed head but Sasuke could hear the hesitation.

With a sigh, Sasuke motioned the kid forward. Kusunoki's soft steps shuffled until he got close enough for Sasuke to grab the boy by the neck and pull him down. In samurai culture, a teacher was supposed to teach a student more than just how to fight.

Sasuke enveloped Kusunoki's mouth with heat. He molded his young apprentice under his body. The act was much more pure than what Sasuke had experienced under Orochimaru's tutelage. Kusunoki was willing out of a sense of duty, a cultural expectation, even an honor. Sasuke had been willing, but only in exchange for power. Madness – Kusunoki had called it.

Sasuke released Kusunoki's mouth leaving his young student breathless. Then he slapped a demanding hand against the boy's butt cheek. Kusunoki immediately scrambled up and shuffled toward the dresser for the lubricant. Kusunoki returned to Sasuke's ambivalent attentions but he had become used to the moods of his teacher.

Sasuke tightened a fist into Kusunoki's dark purple hair. From a distance it looked black, the color of most citizens of Iron Country, but the tinge of color betrayed a hint of chakra since Kusunoki's birth. Kusunoki wondered if the fact that Kusunoki hated it was the reason why his teacher treated it so roughly. Kusunoki's head was twisted back by the locks of his hair and gulped at the softness of his teacher's lips down his throat. He knew his teacher was a hard man, but at times, in rare moments, he was indeed capable of softness.

Sasuke thrust so hard Kusunoki fell forward until the mat was pressed against his cheek, and yet the hand that stroked his throbbing member was careful. Kusunoki felt all of his teacher's frustrations and anger suddenly pound into his ass but he was proud to be entrusted with these emotions. Always sensitive to his teacher's closeness and too many raging hormones, Kusunoki came early into Sasuke's ministrations.

For some reason, Sasuke could never come out of anger. Sasuke closed his eyes, and for a few brief moments Sasuke had to let go all of his hate and give into the throes of pleasure tight around his cock. The tension exploded in release.

Sasuke fell against the pillow and didn't bother to shove Kusunoki away as the boy fell his head against Sasuke's chest. Sasuke had hardly broken a sweat while his young charge breathed heavily. Until Kusunoki, Sasuke hadn't been intimate with anyone for years… not since Karin and she had annoyed the fuck out of him.

Against Sasuke's will, he had begun to develop a fondness for the boy. For the most part, Kusunoki was quiet when Sasuke wanted him to be and did as he was told - like the puppy Sasuke had always wanted as a kid. And maybe, really, it was because Sasuke knew that in Kusunoki's eyes he was the strongest person in the world.

But Sasuke would never admit to it.

"The show over?"

The killing intent could have crushed mountains.

The entire right side of the house was engulfed in an instant eruption of black flames. Sasuke emerged like that of a fire-breathing dragon, enraged to have allowed someone to have snuck up on him. He was fucking pissed.

"Why should I not kill you?" Sasuke demanded of the intruder, and realized belatedly, much after his anger had died down, that if the intruder had meant him harm he would have been dead all ready - all thanks to his carelessness.

The crouched figure, who managed to escape the fire unscathed wore the same robes as the kabuki actor from Mifune's palace. As the figure stood up, his face was lit in moonlight and Sasuke was standing close enough to finally see through his ailing vision.

"So this is where the great Uchiha Sasuke has been hiding?" Anko Mitarashi asked with a smirk and a hand on her hip. Sasuke placed his hands together to form a seal. "Calm down, I'm not here to kill you."

Sasuke performed the jutsu anyways. Earthen bars jutted from the ground to capture her in a cage. Anko barely evaded the attack, but nevertheless managed to slither out the bars at the last minute. She looked up and Sasuke was charging with a raikiri.

"Kill me and your boy lover dies as well."

Sasuke's crackling jutsu stopped inches before Anko's nose, lighting both their faces like the tail-end of a comet. The bloodshot eyes of the sharingan turned and narrowed at the sight of Kusunoki wrapped in the vices of a large snake summon, the fangs precariously by his throat.

Sasuke's hand twitched.

"At first I didn't recognize you but the snakes I had on me certainly did." Anko tapped her lip. "They really don't like you."

Sasuke deactivated the technique and dropped his arm. The snake loosened, but only enough to allow Kusunoki to breath.

"What do you want?" Sasuke seethed. He knew he had to kill her before she told the hunter-nins of his position.

"You tell me what you know about an organization called Kuro no Keiyakusha and I'll shut my mouth about your location to the hunter-nins. Believe it or not, there's more important things going on other than you."

That actually hurt Sasuke's pride a little, to know that Konoha didn't care about him anymore. "Like what?" Sasuke snapped.

Anko's jaw slackened in shock. "You really don't know?"

Sasuke gave her a dead stare. Sasuke hardly paid attention to the affairs outside of his training ground.

"Well," Anko stretched and sat down on a piece of the upraised earth Sasuke had just created with his jutsu. "Mountain seceded from Rock Country and has been fucking our ass ever since," Anko winked. "There has been a bombing in the capital. Naruto killed the Mizukage and now Water Country is fucking us from the front."

Sasuke felt really irked. Were they competing to see who killed the most Kages now?! Then Sasuke sincerely wondered if he killed Mifune if that would add a tick to his list. "Who's the Mizukage now?" Sasuke asked interested.

Anko scoffed. "Suigetsu."

Sasuke scoffed. He knew that's not going to last very long.

"So what's it going to be?" Anko asked, the tilt of her face revealed the white kabuki make-up. It wasn't until then that Sasuke realized Anko was a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Clever, even Sasuke admitted.

Sasuke had no beef with Anko and his sharingan revealed she wasn't lying about keeping her promise. "It's just some organization run by civilians. What the hell can they do?"

"Bomb a palace," Anko grumbled. She leaned back and absentmindedly studied the destruction of the yard. "Is that all you know?"

"I know that Mifune offers them asylum in Iron Country. They create a few things for Mifune and he basically gives them free reign to do whatever they want. That's how it works here, asylum to do what you want in exchange for periodic favors."

Anko crossed her arms curiously. "And what favor did you perform to get on Mifune's good side?"

Sasuke didn't bother answering her inquiry. He continued, "About two years ago one of Mifune's best samurai went missing escorting some merchant. The only survivor was a woman named Nanami but she didn't remember anything about what happened. I was ordered to use my sharigan to unlock her memories and find out what happened to the samurai. It took me a few days to crack that block. It was Yamanaka built." Sasuke shrugged. "The samurai were dead but the woman Nanami went on to become a top leader in that civilian organization. They are based out of a nearby province called Kane. That's all I know."

Anko tapped her feet and stood up. "Good enough, our promise stands."

The snake that still held a quivering Kusunoki finally let him go. But Sasuke wasn't yet ready to let Anko go. He pinned Anko down with a fire burning on the coal black of his eyes. "I know that Naruto is in ANBU. I know that he is wearing my brother's fucking mask. I know that one day I'm going to kill him."

Anko listened with all the attention as a mother to her child's temper tantrum. "Are you still peeved about that time Naruto defeated you during the Fourth Shinobi War? That was four years ago. Grow the fuck up."

Anko left as quiet as she came. Sasuke decided he really focused too much on his eyes and not enough on his ears.

Then Sasuke stood, staring at the ruined garden, brooding. He had been caught unawares and Sasuke did not like that. But what Sasuke really didn't like was the weakness that had formed without even him realizing it.

Sasuke turned on his heels for the house.

Kusunoki, shaken up about the snake, was still quivering when Sasuke approached. "Who was that?" Kusunoki asked nervously.

Then the room lit up as bright as an exploding star.

Sasuke plunged a raikiri through Kusunoki's chest, who at first stared confused, but ultimately accepted his sudden death. Sasuke watched as the apprentice he had lived with for two years died by his hand. Sasuke knew that Anko should have never been able to wield such power over him, all because Sasuke had cared. Bonds made a person weak, especially an Uchiha.

Madness.

* * *

The morning sun casted warmth across her face. Anko stretched and the sheets flowed down her naked skin. The sudden beat of wings casted a growing shadow in the sun. Anko lifted up when a messenger bird perched on the windowsill with a red message tied around its leg.

"What does a red letter mean?" Mifune attempted to rise from the other side of the bed, but his back had locked up on him. Instead, he remained on the pillow and left the hardness for when he put his armor on.

Anko reached for the red letter with pursed lips. She knew it signaled an immediate recall to the village. She read the contents, "Lightning has entered the war."

"In your favor?" Mifune asked curiously, always keeping tabs on this war he had initiated to weaken his enemies while his country grew strong. As he watched the gaunt lines on Anko's face in a rare moment that showed her age, Mifune knew for the first time in history, Konoha was going to lose the war.

Anko slipped from the bed and put on her clothes with distaste. She had finally gotten her agents inside of the main headquarters of Kuro no Keiyakusha and now she was being withdrawn. She hated leaving things unfinished, especially since she now knew that the organization had another branch base somewhere in Kiri.

Anko and Mifune had been nothing more than mere formalities. Anko needed information. Mifune took advantage of the company and fed her information he was willing to give. It had been a mutual passing of time. They didn't even bother saying goodbye to each other.

Anko was out the window in seconds. But she didn't leave just yet. She remained posted by the window in thought, processing all the information she had gathered so far. There were none of the suspected bombs in Iron Country, which she suspected had been moved to the branch base. But if they weren't making bombs, then what the fuck were they doing in Iron Country?

Anko was jolted out of her reverie when a door closed. She immediately peeked her head back into the bedroom and found Mifune had gotten out of bed but the early dawn revealed untouched dust on the floorboards before the front door.

Anko turned back and twisted through the windows. She crouched down and grinned as she followed the dust of Mifune's footprints to a bookcase. That old clever bastard, but he had gotten too sloppy thinking Anko had left for good. She reached for the bookshelf and began to test the wood until she heard a click.

The bookshelf opened. She stepped through the hidden staircase. As the bookshelf closed behind her, she was enveloped in darkness. Anko crept forward until she heard Mifune in a branching room speaking to one of his generals about the new update on Lightning.

Anko continued through the hall until she reached a room with a set of armor in the middle. There was a section of melted metal in the chest plate. Atop a pedestal sat a katana which Anko studied but couldn't see any difference between it and a regular sword.

Anko's eyes wandered toward the paperwork on the desk. They were design schematics for armor that could negate ninjutsu and for a katana that could sever chakra networks. Then she found a five-year plan to mass produce these products for all of Iron Country's army. Anko sucked in a hard breath at the sight of the numbers and years of planning even before now. Anko immediately knew that Iron Country was the real threat and by the time anyone realized it, it would be too late.

Not knowing whether or not she would have enough time to copy everything, Anko curled a tongue around the paperwork and swallowed. The removal of the sheets on top revealed what was at the bottom.

Anko finally knew what Kuro no Keiyakusha was doing in this country. They were using the Iron Country's iron to build some sort of weapon that could kill ninja but did not require chakra to use. It had a long barrel and was nothing Anko had ever seen before. It was almost sort of a metal tube with a handle.

"I thought you had left."

Anko looked up into the steel of Mifune's eyes.

"I thought Iron was supposed to be a neutral country?" Anko asked snidely.

"Neutral enough to bide our time," Mifune explained as he unsheathed his sword. "The Era of Ninja will soon be over. One day, Iron Country will once again usher in the Age of the Samurai."

* * *

Sasuke stared with smoldering eyes towards his training space and the specific patch of ground that had left an imprint of his face and somewhere else in the grass his pride. His left leg hung limply off the porch, fractured.

He had to go and kill his personal medic ninja. Now he had to wait for the bone to heal naturally, which meant months before he could train again. Bonds made a person weak, but near-sightedness made Sasuke a fucking idiot.

He stewed in his own self-hatred when out of the corner of his eye, Mifune was rapidly approaching with a limp and blood splattered across his chest. It looked as if an animal had torn through the skin with fangs.

"Mitarashi Anko just left the capital. Hunt her down. Kill her."

Sasuke casted a genjutsu on himself, fooling his brain into thinking that there was no pain in his left leg. His leg was still movable at the very least. Sasuke stood to his feet, walked toward Mifune, and studied the old and weak man.

Mifune had the audacity to give Sasuke a shocked expression when Sasuke finally put a sword through Mifune's gut. Sasuke really didn't need the old samurai any longer. Besides, maybe Sasuke had grievances with Naruto but his brother had died and killed for Konoha. Sasuke would not let that sacrifice be in vain.

"No matter whatever you had plan," And Sasuke twisted the wakizashi even further. "My brother was a leaf ninja."

Even as a missing-nin, Itachi had been a leaf ninja until the day he died.

Mifune, a swordmaster and the Shogun of Iron Country, slumped to the ground with perceived betrayal on his dying breath. A samurai's way was loyalty, and Mifune had mistakenly believed that armor, a pair of swords, and submersion into the culture could make Sasuke into a samurai.

Ninjas.

Sasuke definitely considered Mifune's kill as a notch to his Kage's list. Then Sasuke crouched down and pilfered Mifune's blade, Kurosawa, from his belt. It was a sword Sasuke had been eying for a while now. But Sasuke frowned. The weight of the blade was off.

Sasuke spread his summoning scroll and took flight on the wings of a hawk. Anko had made him kill his medic ninja. She would have to pay for that.

* * *

Anko had made it as far as the border. She turned on her heels when the tundra erupted into black flames before her. She turned around and another series of black flames cut off her escape. She took a stand with two summons the size of jungle anacondas that emerged out of the smoke. A ring of black fire encircled her and in the middle stood Sasuke Uchiha.

The protégés of Orochimaru faced one another.

Sasuke activated his sharingan and even from this distance, the scale on each snake glistened like diamonds. A plume of fire burst from his mouth to engulf one of the fangs springing towards him.

Sasuke turned and met Anko's kunai with the edge of his new katana. Kurosawa immediately lit with the high-screech chirp of lightning. He evaded her punch, cut apart the snakes that erupted from her sleeves, turned and sent a boulder of rocks smashing into the face of the last summon sneaking up from behind him.

Sasuke fell on his back with a blinding pain squeezing behind his eyes. Anko had stabbed with her kunai, a decoy when a kick targeted a weakness like a predator. Her foot had smashed against Sasuke's fractured femur and furthered rendered it useless.

Blood began to drip down Sasuke's cheek as he summoned Susanoo to place between him and Anko. Sasuke attempted the same genjutsu technique as before but forgetting the pain didn't mean he could physically stand on a broken leg.

Sasuke grunted as he focused on controlling Susanoo and keeping Anko and her summons away from him in his handicapped state. Anko was quick and deft to Susanoo's lumbering movements. While controlling Susanoo, continuing to maintain his genjutsu, he directed the black flames burning in a circle around them forward.

Anko placed her hands together and he knew the seal she chose was the beginning of an earth jutsu. Sasuke performed the same earth jutsu and slammed down his hand the same time as Anko, effectively cancelling her attack. She had nowhere to run as the black flames imploded inwards.

A plume of smoke erupted into the air.

Sasuke waited for the flames to clear. Once he noticed that their heat had dissipated some time ago, confused, Sasuke reached forward in the darkness and felt the ground beneath his palm. He activated his sharingan to dispel whatever genjutsu this was but the darkness did not retreat.

He still felt the agonizing pain of his leg, tasted sweat on his tongue, heard the wind breeze through leaves, smelled the sharpness of a burnt corpse that was no doubt Anko's, but he couldn't see.

Sasuke attempted again, until he realized he no longer felt the usual pulse of chakra behind his eyes, as if they simply couldn't conduct chakra anymore… simply burned out.

Sasuke's body went cold with disbelief, then began to quiver with a rage his body could no longer contain – searing, quaking, blinding - finally burning within his own anger. Blood cried down his cheeks. All he saw was shadows.

What was an Uchiha without his eyes?

* * *

**x**

* * *

 

**_Are you still peeved about that time Naruto defeated you during the Fourth Shinobi War? That was four years ago. Grow the fuck up._ **

* * *

****  



	2. The Five Senses

When his anger had finally abandoned him, all he had left was nothing. The ashes that were swept up by an errant wind strayed across his scorched taste buds. The decomposing fumes of a nearby corpse could not penetrate the congestion of his indifference. Numbness clogged the shocked receptors of his skin. His strained breaths were drowned in silence.

"What happened here?"

"Don't care. Look for anything of worth. I'm tired of eating fucking rats."

"Take a look at this guy, got some damn fine metal on him." Kurosawa, the sword still stained with Mifune's blood, was unbuckled from Sasuke's belt. "How much do you think this samurai armor will go for?"

The samurai armor, piece by piece, began to be flayed from Sasuke's person.

"This isn't going to last. Stealing isn't going to feed us forever. I say we go back. I hear the Mizukage is invading Konoha."

"Go back to serving that psychopath of a Kage? And I had thought Yagura was bad. No, I like being a free agent."

"A starving free agent reduced to stealing from the dead."

"I did worst things in ANBU."

Left lying naked in the middle of the clearing, Sasuke's breath filled his lungs like a hollow attempt to light an empty forge.

Never did Sasuke imagine that death could be a hell of darkness, a never-ending torturous hell of darkness.

* * *

**Sound**

* * *

Wheels rattled down the road. Wood grazed plotholes and splintered over rocks, then stopped.

The snow was brushed away like digging up dirt from a grave. A pad of rough fingers pushed against a throat, searching for a heartbeat, and found one.

It beat a struggling rhythm.

Sasuke was dug from the ground. A sharp clash of metal snapped around his wrists. He was lifted and tossed against a thud of wooden boards. Sasuke jolted forward at the sudden motion that moved through his chest. The sound of rattling wheels continued, plowing soft at first through the snow and then rattling on dry ground. The jostling created a constant clash of metal against metal. Heavy breathing labored the air.

"Old man." A distinct high-pitched voice, a child, fought with the sound of metal chains. "You're naked."

The cold couldn't penetrate the blanket of Sasuke's numbness.

"Does it matter?" Another voice, full of a fury and hate Sasuke knew too well. "It's not as if we're any better off."

"Would you two shut up?" Another voice grumbled.

"Are you a ninja?" The child continued to question. The words brought a tension that squeezed the spaces of silence. The child received no answer but continued anyways, "My dad was a ninja… but he died. Only a ninja has scars like you do."

The wooden wheels gave a loud creak from the weight they bore.

"Do you think… you can… rescue us?"

The child's high-pitched scream cut sharp, then died abruptly and left behind nothing but the constant groans of persistent wood. Sasuke released the child's strangled neck that had been twisted in the chains locked around Sasuke's wrists. The corpse thudded over, punctuated by gasps and an uneasy melancholy.

And all was silent again.

* * *

When Sasuke struck the kunai against the table, he could hear the durable bonds of metal. Then he grounded the rough metal edge and scratched against the bluntness until it squeaked sharp. He tested the edge across his palm and reveled in the familiarity of a kunai across his skin.

Only then did he hear the sound of a beep.

"Hurry up before the masters come," urged the woman that worked beside him on the station. Every few minutes, she was always shifting her weight, and Sasuke found himself annoyed by the constant motion.

Finished sharpening the kunai that he held, he placed it back on the conveyor belt and picked up the next one. He went through the same motions as before: chink, grind, squeak. The rhythm settled into his bones and sharpened into an obsessive focus on the sounds, anything to distract him from the darkness he was trapped in.

The woman beside him shifted, unevenly punctuating the rhythm in which he worked.

The background was a constant war of cranking machines. It reminded Sasuke of the monstrous hum associated with the metal factories in Iron Country except now, in the middle of it, the hum was a never-ending roar. A blast of steam, which happened every twenty two seconds, screeched heat into his face. Then Sasuke coughed and wheezed on the difficult heavy air.

Sasuke frowned at the sudden sound of stuttering metal. The hilt of the kunai rattled loosely. Sasuke placed this kunai into the defective pile. Sasuke continued the task for eighteen hours every day every week without rest. It was a mindless repetitive task, a crutch that kept his body moving as mechanical as a machine.

Suddenly a burst of color and light sparked before his eyes. Sasuke used to swat these memories away with ease, shoving them back down into his psyche to never experience again, but this time, he lingered in the brief respite from the darkness.

The sharp ebony cut across his hand, and in the next second he found that same kunai tensed at his throat. The match was at an end.

Instinctively, Sasuke looked over at his father who sat crossed-legged on the porch observing the match. The white fragility of cherry blossoms floated on the wind and swept past the disapproving expression.

"You did well, Sasuke," Itachi said encouragingly. "Next time you should set your feet like-"

Itachi's advice was interrupted as Sasuke shoved away Itachi's helpful hand, then stomped off, shaking with an anger that perhaps he had all of his life. As Sasuke walked away, he could hear his father and Itachi begin to talk.

"Not good enough. You need to be more ruthless," Fugaku berated his oldest son.

Then the bright green of the training field and the dancing cherry blossoms of Konoha began to darken and eventually fade. Slipping away, Sasuke grasped at the details: the hard lines in his Father's face, the embittered coal of Itachi's eyes, the sturdy wood of a cherry blossom tree he had burned down a long time ago, the ashes of which, he could taste on his tongue.

And Sasuke remembered his father's words, even though they caused a confused line of emotion to cross his brow. Sasuke's Itachi was perfect, disgustingly perfect. But the Itachi of Sasuke's memories were less so. There were mistakes, if Sasuke cared to pay attention to the details. There was a bitterness between Itachi and Fugaku that revealed far more complicated motivations beyond just a brother's love.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The tyrannical screech that signaled a stall in the line pierced through Sasuke's consciousness. The woman beside him on the backed-up station was sending him panicked whispers to get his attention.

"This is the fourth time you have held up the line this week!"

Sasuke heard the heavy footsteps of the line driver charging towards him. He heard the snap of the whip when it touched the air. He felt when the whip dig deep into his back.

"Stop it!" The woman who annoyed him was the only person to defend him, even when he wouldn't. "Can't you see he's blind? Give him a break."

Sasuke collapsed to his knees. Sasuke's been in a number of battles in his lifetime but without the adrenaline to numb the pain, he felt every strike of the whip as it snapped across his back. He didn't bother to do anything to stop it. What did it matter anymore?

Only the whistle that indicated the shift's end had saved him from dying on the polluted factory floor.

Arms reached under him and a few of his coworkers helped him from the ground. He didn't move and didn't bother trying to make their task any easier. He could recognized their voices but he never once acknowledged them when they spoke to him. He was carried into the cell that imprisoned them at night and the iron bars screeched close.

Cloth ripped in his ear and was soon applied to the wounds slashed across his back. Coughs racked his chest, stinging the cuts. Piss dribbled down his pants, dripped onto the stone floor, and added to the overwhelming pungent smell of piss and shit in the cell.

The women finished fussing over him when it seemed there was nothing more they could do to help. Sasuke knocked his head on the soft earthen wall behind him. If he really wanted to, he could have easily twisted the wall with a jutsu, if only he cared enough.

At shift's end, he slept in a small cell with the others that worked his line. Unable to not overhear the constant gossip and conversation, he knew that all of his cellmates were either handicapped or women. The hardier men were designated to more labor intensive tasks in other parts of the factory.

All of the women were pregnant.

Sasuke closed his eyes to the sound of screams that at first he thought were those of torture, but they were nothing more than the manic screams of a woman about to give life.

The screams lasted for hours, until finally, the cry of a newborn swallowed the cell. Then the cell door creaked open and a mournful silence strained the air. The wailing newborn always faded into the distant unknown.

They'll be back for the mother. They always came back to drag the woman to the next cell over. The walls were thin and it was easy to hear the screams and the pounding of flesh. Some women didn't scream, resigned to their fate as Sasuke was to his. And how easy that resignation was - life was no longer fighting an uphill battle. Sasuke was content staying in the mud.

A soft crumble of dirt gave way. Sudden gasps and shrieks erupted throughout the cell and interrupted the mechanical routine Sasuke's life had become. He heard the distinct metal of a pouch filled with a tumble of kunai. Cloth dragged. It sounded the sort of clothes hardy enough to tunnel underground.

Iwa ninja.

A heavy metal – that of the cell door- groaned and twisted, then finally snapped apart. It dropped a heavy thud into the dirt.

"Are you here to save us?" The woman that worked at Sasuke's side of the conveyor belt was the only one brave enough to ask. The rest had lost hope a long time ago.

The Iwa ninja had anger in his voice. "I am here to defeat Mountain."

* * *

Two weeks after Iwa invaded Mountain, the slaves were finally marched out of their cells. Sasuke joined the rasping coughs of hundreds of other pungent bodies whom he guessed had been collected from the other cells throughout the factory. It was odd not to hear the roar of cranking machinery. He didn't miss it, but it was just, odd.

Sasuke didn't put up any resistance when Iwa ninja began shoving everyone into lines. In comparison to a shinobi, a civilian's footsteps were akin to the sound of oxen stomping the ground. Therefore Sasuke could always tell when a ninja drew near him.

Then he heard a voice, one that Sasuke recognized from the Fourth Shinobi war. The voice was gruff, as if it had been swallowing gravel his entire life, and belonged to Oonoki's son, Kitsuchi, probably the Tsuchikage by now. "What is this place?"

"Tsuchikage-sama," Sasuke assumptions were confirmed, "these are the factories that Mountain used to create their stock of weapons. It's a sophisticated weapon's assembly line similar to the technology in Iron Country."

"How did Mountain get a hold of Iron Country's technology?"

"That has yet to be determined. Judging from interviewing a few of the factory workers, it seems that some were kidnapped from their homes during the chaos of the war but most are Mountain's own people…" A gulp and the advisor quickly changed his sentence, "our own people. Additionally, the women workers were also a sub-division of their resurrected breeding program."

"We could use this to our advantage and bolster the numbers we have lost in the war. Detain all the pregnant women until they give birth and confiscate any child born with chakra. What to do with the rest of the captives can be decided at your discretion but keep a fraction of the workers here to continue manufacturing more weapons. Maybe the next war will be years from now, but Iwa will be ready. At this point, Konoha has undeniably emerged from this war as the world's hegemon but it's a tentative position at best." The Tsuchikage's voice faded down the hallway.

Iwa hadn't come to liberate anyone. They came with a vengeance. But for the lives of most of these civilians, much hadn't changed.

The next person was shouted for in line. Sasuke dragged his feet forward and ran into something heavy and metal. The flutter of paper scattered into the air.

"What are we going to do with some blind guy?" A kunoichi asked. There was always something in a voice that distinguished a ninja from civilian – a metal edge.

"I don't see how he can be of any use to us. We should just let him go," another ninja replied, bored.

"Wait. You know, without all the dirt, this one is pretty. _Very pretty._ We can sell him for a bit of money in Kumo. At this point, Iwa can use whatever money we can get."

"We were on the winning side of this war but why does it feel as if we still lost?"

"Could be worse. Could be Kiri."

The two ninja laughed, that uncomfortable laugh during an awkward situation when an appropriate response was hard to find, just the laughter, seemingly out of place and yet just right.

"Could be Kiri."

* * *

**Smell**

* * *

 

It was a known fact that Kumogakure had the largest red lights district in the world, so large that it metaphorically and literally floated above all others and was an important center of tourism and income for the ninja village. Because of its cultural and economic importance the government largely left it to its own devices to expand and encompass all manner of immorality as it saw fit.

"50,000 ryo." The Iwa kunoichi pressed.

Sasuke didn't look up as yet another bidding war erupted over his person. He was among a few others that Iwa had deemed valuable enough to sell, but evidently the hardest buy as he was the last left standing.

The owner of this brothel talked as if she always had tobacco stuck in her throat. Sasuke didn't flinch when the end of the kiseru pipe stabbed him in the eye. But the tobacco was sweet and reminded him of the grass that grew along the rivers of Fire Country.

"This one is useless. He has no charisma, no spark of life - nothing to charm customers." It was the same sentiment that all the other brothel owners had expressed.

"What does a whore need with fucking charisma?!" The Iwa-nin asked exasperatedly. Her clipped words betrayed her impatience.

"A whore needs more than an asshole to retain a customer." The Madam released another outtake of smoke, hitting Sasuke directly in the face. "Don't tell me how to run my business, Iwa-nin. Besides, none of the brothels are ever going to buy him for that price. We already have to deal with a raise in taxes from that damn war."

The Iwa-nin grated her teeth in frustration, like the sound of grinding a kunai to its fine edge. "Imagine the possibilities," The kunoichi attempted to wheedle, "His midnight blue hair and brooding expression… like that of an Uchiha!" The kunoichi said with a sudden epiphany. "Put in some red contacts and you've got yourself a profit."

The Madam spat tobacco. "What's the point of having an Uchiha when they have an Uzumaki look-a-like across the street ruining my business? Come back when you've found me a blonde hair blue-eyed whore. That is what is in demand nowadays."

"There is?" The Iwa-nin asked with a little too much interest. The door creaked. "Wait! 25,000 ryo!"

"Sold," the Madam said immediately. Coins chimed, then Sasuke was being pulled through the brothel.

"Let's first get you cleaned and washed. We fuck like animals but we don't have to smell like one," the Madam said with a much softer voice, completely different from the one she used when bartering. "Then we'll talk."

Several servants, the various children of the occupying prostitutes, helped to give him a wash. The soap smelled of peppermint and the shampoo smelled of cherry blossoms. It took a lot of scrubbing to scrape away the rancid smell of factory work. Suddenly, it occurred to Sasuke that he kind of did care. He preferred the refreshing and enticing smells of the brothel versus the muck and smoke of the factory.

Finally, he could _breathe_.

The snips of scissors cut by his ear. He couldn't see what they did to his hair but there was a noticeable weight lifted. He knew from his days running from hunter-nin that if allowed to grow feral, his hair could get long and unruly, a genetic trait he had evidently inherited from Madara. His hair was framed about his face and the rest was pulled back into a long ponytail, but even after being attacked with copious amounts of conditioner, there was still that part in the back that stuck up.

The distinct smell of shaving cream was spread across his jaw. A razor slid across the thin and fine beard that had laid claim to Sasuke's jaw.

The softness of silk shocked his hard-scrubbed skin. The silk robe smelled as if it had been soaked in a tub of light perfume. While Sasuke breathed in the comfort of soft fragrances, he didn't even mind when his hand was lifted and placed on the shoulder of one of the servants to be guided out the bath.

Once again he stepped into the overwhelming smell of sweet tobacco and knew he had entered the Madam's room. Spring, it smelled like spring in Konoha, and a pang of nostalgia hit his chest, surprising Sasuke that he missed something so simple.

"Don't I know how to make a deal," the Madam greeted smugly. "You are a pretty one. I bet the girls fawned over you when you were younger." After a pause, "Are you mute as well as blind? Guess it doesn't matter. Here, sit."

Sasuke sat down in an encirclement of soft pillows and for the very first time since Sasuke lost his sight, he opened his mouth to speak. "May I have a smoke?"

Oddly enough, his own voice sounded odd to his ear as if it belonged to a stranger.

Sasuke felt soft wrinkled hands around his own, and would have hated the touch, but tolerated it out of necessity. The kiseru pipe was placed in his hand. Inhaled, he took a deep relaxing exhale and focused on the colors that danced behind his eyelids.

"Lucky for you, this is more of a high-end brothel. Even that Iwa idiot knew you were worth more than a lower-end establishment. This brothel serves both a male and female clientele. I have decided you will primarily be serving my shinobi clients. Your blindness certainly helps with the discretion they typically require and they tend to gravitate toward their own ilk." The Madam said meaningfully, having already guessed that Sasuke was once a ninja. "Typically, the only ninja with a high enough pay grade to afford my services are Jounin-level and above."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the thought. The only ninja paid higher than Jounin was ANBU, a Clan Head, or a Kage. The Madam certainly could have paid the initial requested price if she had wanted to.

"Do you understand? Sometimes ninja of that caliber can get a bit rough and there's not much anyone here can do to stop them once angered."

"I fear no one," Sasuke said with an offended sneer. It seemed while the dirt had been scrubbed off, so had some of the numbness and shock of the past year.

Sasuke could have walked out with ease, but what was the point? He had nowhere to go. Without his eyes he couldn't continue gathering and mastering jutsu. All Sasuke really wanted to do right now was finish smoking this tobacco.

Then in a very stern tone, the madam demanded, "Do not kill any of my clients. Understand that and we will have no problems. Now, we need to figure out a way to advertise you."

The smell of hot cider grew stronger as the presence of the Madam neared. "I do like the idea of the Uchiha. You do fit the look. The Uchiha are a dead clan so the rarity will bring in a demand. What was that Uchiha that made such a big fuss during the Fourth Shinobi War?" She made testing sounds before the name Madara finally came to her lips. "Yes, Madara Uchiha – the great enemy of the Fourth Shinobi War."

"That is not my name," Sasuke said annoyed, irked even.

"Flesh is not the only thing I sell here. No one, not a civilian, or a merchant, or a ninja wants to live in this fucked up world. Anyone will do anything for a little bit of an escape. I'm in the business of selling fantasies."

Sasuke tensed at the sudden pop of the button on his pants. He seethed at the sudden warmth that caved around his dick. He bucked his hips, rolling a growing erection into the moistness of the Madam's skilled mouth.

There was a starved moan, and slowly Sasuke realized he had made that desperate strangled sound.

Sasuke drowned in the smell of upturned grass while training in the hot Konoha sun, the cinnamon cider perfume was reminiscent of the apple trees in fall, the lingering cherry blossoms in his hair swept of early spring, and the fresh shaving cream smelled of his father in the early mornings. These scents gave life to long buried memories, and for a few brief moments, Sasuke could see.

* * *

**Taste**

* * *

It's been a week since Sasuke their last training session and still Orochimaru refuses to train him. Sasuke knew what the Sannin wanted, it was made quite clear when Orochimaru had grabbed for Sasuke's crotch and the cool level-headed Sasuke had panicked.

Sasuke had known Orochimaru wanted to eventually take his body as his own, he had noticed that Orochimaru was fucking strange, but it had come as a surprise to Sasuke when Orochimaru overtly expressed his want for Sasuke's body in other ways.

Sasuke decided that if he wasn't going to learn any new jutsu, he might as well return to Konoha but his pride made that an impossible option. He had come this far. He couldn't turn back now. Finally after days of reasoning and attempting to mentally come to terms with what he had to do, Sasuke sat up in bed. He left his room and walked down the hallway, deeper into Orochimaru's lair.

Not to break his determination, Sasuke didn't stop to knock but shoved open Orochimaru's door and froze.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto mewled. "I want to be one with you…"

"In due time," Orochimaru whispered, almost wistfully as his hips thrust forward and slammed into Kabuto's ass. Then, Orochimaru looked up at the sound of the door swinging wide and his smirk stretched into a wide grin. "Sasuke-kun."

Then Orochimaru roughly caught Kabuto by the back of the neck and shoved him forward. Kabuto fell over and crashed onto the bedroom floor. Disgruntled and tossed to the wayside, Kabuto gathered his clothes, bowed, and stomped out the room shoving past Sasuke hard against the shoulder.

Sasuke was definitely having second thoughts now. Porn had never been a priority for Sasuke. He knew how it worked between a man and a woman from biology books but until now he had no idea a cock could fit into someone's butthole. He knew men could be lovers, but never really comprehended how it worked. This was more than just the stroking Sasuke had thought it was going to be.

"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru drawled as if to a frightened child. And that tone pissed Sasuke off. Defiantly, he took a step forward.

"How far are you willing to go for power?"

As of late, Sasuke has been asking that same question of himself often.

"Whatever it takes," Sasuke whispered. Even if that meant becoming a missing-nin and abandoning Konoha. Even if that meant losing his virginity to Orochimaru. Because at some point, you cross a line and can never turn back. The only thing left to do was continue down a path that even Sasuke could tell was burning up behind him.

Sasuke stepped forward. Then he reached for the hem of his shirt, took it off, folded it, and placed it on the dresser. He did the same for his pants. Before he could reached for his boxers, Orochimaru snatched at his hair and force Sasuke to his knees. Sasuke stared as another's man's cock stood upright before him. By the back of Sasuke's head, Orochimaru pushed him forward and it wasn't until Sasuke's lips touched the crown of Orochimaru's cock did Sasuke understand what his mentor wanted.

Whatever it takes.

Sasuke closed his eyes and slid the hot organ into his mouth. Sasuke almost threw-up at the taste, but he swallowed the bile and enveloped the taste of cock that had been inside Kabuto only a few moments ago.

"Suck, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru coached his young ward, shuddering at the image of Sasuke's budding lips around him.

Sasuke focused on Orochimaru's commands. If he could compartmentalize each task, focus on the mechanical completion of it, it was easier that way. Sasuke hadn't been warned before he suddenly found himself with a mouth full of semen that he coughed out and wasted down his chin.

Sasuke would never forget the taste of Orochimaru's cock.

"Damn, for a blind guy, you're fucking good at this."

Sasuke snapped open his eyes at the sound of a stranger's voice and found himself trapped in a darkness as deep as the lairs of Orochimaru. It wasn't until the smell of tobacco and perfume wafted pass his nose did his shoulders ease and he recognized where he was. And the taste in his mouth.

But if you compartmentalized each task, and focus on the mechanical completion of it, it was easier that way. Sasuke returned to sucking off his client and anchored his senses on the distinct taste of another man's cock. Suddenly, his mouth was overwhelmed by his client's orgasm. The thickness slid down his tongue, going down salty before he swallowed. It was only recently that Sasuke realized everyone had their own taste, and thus far, no one's cum had tasted as disgusting as Orochimaru's had.

Sasuke listened to the heavy breathing of his client and turned toward the strong scent of tobacco. His hand carefully searched for the ashtray and lifted the kiseru pipe still warm with heat. Sasuke fitted the fine shreds of tobacco, heated the base and allowed the sweet taste to overwhelm his mouth.

Sasuke flinched at the sudden hand on his arm, and it took several seconds for him to put down the kiseru aimed like a kunai. Sasuke gave in to his client's wants and descended on a mouth that tasted of cigarette and a hint of fish and rice.

Sasuke often found his male clients easier. At least it was familiar territory. He was still rather intimately uncomfortable around women, a fact the Madam had caught onto, and normally paired Sasuke with men unless the money was really good.

The client released him roughly, but Sasuke was used to that. The heat of his client's breath spat, "I killed my wife."

Sasuke wasn't sure if the man was angry about it or regretful.

"Came back from the war and found her fucking the neighbor… then I killed her."

There were times when the clients weren't interest in sex but instead would pay thousands of ryo just to lighten the demons from their chest. After all, what secrets could a blind prostitute possibly betray?

That was a part of the fantasy Sasuke realized ninja craved the most - not comfort, not sex, but someone to trust. Once upon a time, Sasuke would have regarded the craving as a weakness – something that eerily resembled bonds – but now, he just felt empty.

* * *

**Touch**

* * *

 

It seemed as if every blind person in the Four Shinobi Nations could play the biwa, except Sasuke. He didn't know whether or not it was a matter of applying the right force to the strings but his songs were always discordant and ended when an unexpected snap under his hand.

It frustrated Sasuke that he sucked at it, which is why he obsessively set himself to mastering the skill during his free time. If only Sasuke could _see_ someone play.

Warmth began to flush against Sasuke's cheeks and he knew the sun was rising. Sasuke had always enjoyed silence but he has come to appreciate the bird songs of the early morning.

There was a knock at his door. It was a quick and assured rasp, not at all hesitant. Sasuke did not bother getting up to greet the Madam when the door slid open. "Madara, I would like you to meet our newest addition."

It was customary for the Madam to introduce the newest "recruit" to everyone. Sasuke did not feel like going through the trouble of getting up just to meet a stranger. Sasuke stayed seated in front of the open window with an estranged "Hn."

"Madara caters to most of our male ninja clientele and has made quite a name for himself in the past few months. Madara, I would like you to meet our Naruto Uzumaki."

Sasuke frowned. He finally turned his head and focused on the second set of breathing, but that only gave him an approximate direction, and could never focus his eyes exactly on his target.

"He looks rather convincing if not a tad too old for my tastes but draw some lines on his face and it will work. Everyone is to call him Naruto for authenticity. Hopefully we can…"

Sasuke tightened his hand around the silver edged tip of his cane, always slightly cold to the touch. At first, Sasuke hated the damn cane but it was better than having to rely on the servants to always get around. Sasuke brought it underneath him and picked himself up, navigating around the items that sometimes the servants and clients moved around in the room. Sasuke ignored the Madam and walked straight toward this "Uzumaki". At once, Sasuke thrust out his hand and literally slapped his palm into the stranger's face.

"Does he do this all the time?" came an awkward chuckle that vibrated against Sasuke's hand.

"No actually," The Madam said quite surprised.

Sasuke touched the man's face and studied the features, wondering, perhaps too paranoid, if this was the real Naruto. It was highly improbable as he had lost the hunter-nin years ago and from what he understood, Naruto was currently Hokage… but there was always the possibility. Were these the features that the Naruto Sasuke remembered would eventually mature into? Will that high-pitched voice of Naruto's childhood one day evolve into the deep baritone that had just rumbled through Sasuke's palm?

For several long minutes, Sasuke stood there and wondered.

Sasuke suddenly lost his balance when the person whose face he was currently groping took a step backwards. Sasuke couldn't do much but flail his arms helplessly before he was caught in sturdy arms.

"I'm sorry…" The stranger who had caught him began.

Sasuke instantly recognized the ninja reflexes and slapped his hands together in a series of seals. Lightning bolted from Sasuke's palms and the flash of light vengefully blinded everyone else in the room. Sasuke knew his jutsu had landed when he heard the heavy weight of a body tear through an entire wall.

"What is wrong with you?!" The Madam gasped. Rushed and worried feet could be heard approaching from down the hall.

"I could have burned it down," Sasuke sneered, but he had intentionally refrained from using a fire jutsu as the brothel was primarily made of wood. Sasuke demanded, "Is he healing?"

"What?" The Madam breathed breathlessly. "You almost burned off his entire shoulder!"

Sasuke frowned. The stranger wasn't healing, which meant he wasn't Naruto Uzumaki but was skilled enough to avoid the jutsu that had targeted the sound of his heartbeat. Or Sasuke was rusty. "I was attempting to determine whether or not he really is Naruto Uzumaki."

The Madam laughed. "You think the Hokage has time to go undercover in a Kumo brothel? You're paying for this shit. One more mess-up and I'll sell you lower-end. Paranoid fucking ninja," the Madam ranted as she stomped away from Sasuke.

There were a lot of people in the room, but Sasuke didn't care as he literally shoved them away with his cane, and then crouched down before the wounded "Naruto".

"You're a ninja," Sasuke determined.

"Ex-ninja," Naruto seethed through gritted teeth. "I used to be a Kumo-nin from Snow Country until a fucking Hyuuga irreparably damaged my chakra networks during the war. Look, I don't know your deal but I need this money."

Sasuke still didn't trust him.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't get to sleep. The niggling doubt in Sasuke's head was slowly turning into an obsession. And Sasuke encouraged it because he needed something to obsess over to stay sane. He knew that he had only a few more hours before the brothel opened for the night and probably should get some rest, but couldn't. Finally, Sasuke reached for his cane and navigated the brothel hallways until he stopped in front of Naruto's room.

Sasuke didn't hesitate to slam open the door. Immediately, he noticed the strong scent of maple trees, the kind whose leaves turned deep red and lit Fire Country in flames during autumn.

"What do you want?" There was annoyance in the voice and a sluggishness as if Sasuke had interrupted his sleep.

Sasuke stomped forward, toward the voice, then completely fell and slipped backward on a silk robe. His head rebounded off the hard wooden floor. Sasuke blinked once he realized what had happened and felt strong arms helping him to sit up. "Hey, are you okay? You know, maybe once in a while you should use the cane you are holding." The ex-Kumo nin suggested.

Then Sasuke punched him in the face, annoyed, frustrated, but ultimately embarrassed.

"What the fuck was that-" Then Sasuke reached and tightened his fist through locks of hair and shoved the stranger's mouth onto his. He's kissed Naruto before in the academy but even after going so far as to shove his throat down this person's mouth, Sasuke still wasn't entirely sure of anything.

When their lips parted, simply because they needed to breathe eventually, Sasuke could feel the hesitancy, and nervousness, and awkwardness in his sudden partner.

"You've signed yourself away to a unisex brothel and have never done it with a man?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"I had the right look and I heard it could be big money. I figured I'll learn as I go," the man admitted, and Sasuke detected honesty in his words.

It also didn't help that they were still molded against each other from the kiss and Sasuke's semi-erection was forming against Naruto's stomach. Sasuke said with an evil smirk as he leaned forward. "Naruto, I'm going to fuck you in the ass."

Sasuke was expecting protests or outright disgust. He was surprised when he was pushed back and hands began to slide down his chest. "Guess I've got to start somewhere."

Sasuke frowned. That wasn't the response he expected from Naruto, if he was authentic, to have. Getting angrier that he couldn't figure out this mystery, one so simple and easy if he could only fucking see, Sasuke grabbed his partner's hair and slammed him down, right where the tea table was set, and scraped Naruto's eye against the wooden table.

Sasuke felt around until he found the elastic waistband of the boxers and thrust them down. He felt Naruto trying to resist but only twisted further into his hair and without warning prodded two fingers into the tight hole. It was painfully obvious that at least anally, this man was a virgin. Sasuke dug in three fingers testing the man, attempting to get a rise, and challenging his story to see whether or not he was really chakra challenged. But Naruto only squirmed underneath him and weathered the ministrations.

Without much in the way of lube but his own precum, Sasuke thrust forward and gasped when the tight heat clamped around his dick. He could feel Naruto's pain shaking underneath him, tense, and resisting the intrusion. Sasuke didn't care. He was rough and forceful with every thrust, knowing for a fact that the real Naruto would have blasted him with a rasengan by now.

After implementing every form of humiliation and pain Sasuke could think of, he released "Naruto" and turned angrily toward his thoughts. There was a slight disappointment in Sasuke, knowing that the real Naruto would have resisted and fought him to the very end. Sasuke was no longer very interested in this Naruto now that he's figured out the truth.

Sasuke got to his feet, stepped over the curled and heaving imposter and left out the door. Now he could get some sleep.

* * *

It was the smell of maple leaves. It wasn't just a perfumed sprayed about the room, it was a scent that had been on Naruto's skin. Sasuke woke abruptly from his sleep the next day with the realization that maple trees didn't grown in Snow Country. Sasuke sat for hours, still, lost in thought.

In conclusion, he was fairly certain this guy was not Naruto but something didn't add up and he could still be a spy nevertheless. It was around noon, judging by the angle of the warmth filtering in through Sasuke's window, when Sasuke finally got out of bed. He grabbed his usual items and went down to the bath to soak and further work on the conundrum in his head.

When he entered the bath, he heard a sudden whoosh of water and then silence. Sasuke smirked, then carefully felt his feet around the edge of the bath and sat in the steaming water. "How was your first night of work?"

Naruto's voice came surprisingly smug. "I had a female client."

Sasuke didn't like that smugness. It grated on his nerves. Familiar with the layout of the bath, Sasuke easily drew towards the voice and it was silenced immediately. Sasuke stole that smugness and felt the hesitant breaths on his chest.

"Then I guess you've recovered enough to go again?" Sasuke suggested.

"Look," Naruto said nervously. "I'm not being paid to fuck you."

Sasuke reached out his hand, grabbed Naruto's shoulder and shoved him against the bath wall. Naruto seethed when Sasuke's hand clawed into the wounded shoulder. Once again, the man failed to fight back against the rough treatment, but succumbed, defeated before even trying. Sasuke licked his lips anxiously at the sound of Naruto's weak cry when Sasuke summoned lightning to his palm and Naruto shivered helplessly against the tile wall. Sasuke could have laughed. He finally found a ninja that was more helpless than he was. After all, what was an Uchiha without his eyes? What was a ninja without his chakra?

"For the love of Kami," Naruto gasped, begging, "Use some damn lube this time."

There was some bath oil, and shampoo, and conditioner an arm's reach away. But Sasuke ignore the request and shoved in anyways.

"Fuck," Naruto snapped, a lot more vocal than the first time. Sasuke had to admit, he enjoyed not being the helpless one for once. Naruto's hipbones were audibly slammed against the bath tiles as Sasuke fought both the resistance of water and the tense muscles. Sasuke held it for as long as he could, prolonging the pain in his unfortunate victim, before pumping him full of cum.

Sasuke melted in exhaustion against Naruto's sweat-soaked back. Naruto wheezed, cringing as Sasuke dug his nails further and further into skin, and asked, "Why?"

Sasuke wondered the same question. Finally, he decided on an answer, "Because I can."

* * *

Sasuke frowned frustrated as another string of the biwa snapped.

"Why don't you just give up?" Naruto grumbled frustrated from the pillow. Sasuke turned around and glared at the unwanted commentary. "Your glares aren't as effective as you think they are."

Sasuke reached behind him, roughly slid his hand up a bruise along Naruto's thigh and painfully clenched Naruto's butt. Naruto huffed, slapped Sasuke's hand away, and rolled to a safe distance before retorting, "Haven't you ever considered that maybe you're wasting your time and that you should try something else?"

"I'm good at everything," Sasuke said arrogantly.

"Except sex," Naruto replied, "and the biwa apparently. You do realize it's okay to suck at something?"

Sasuke glowered, then suddenly snapped as quick as a taunt shamisen string. Naruto grunted as his head was slammed against the wooden floor boards. Sasuke could feel Naruto's wince when Sasuke's hand brushed past the swollen eye Naruto had received the night before. Then Sasuke declared with arrogant pride, "I'm great at sex."

Sasuke hadn't expected the bitter ironic laughter that erupted underneath him. "You're fucked up, you know that?"

Sasuke scoffed and challenged, "You enjoy it." Sasuke said meaningfully as he thumbed a bruise along Naruto's shoulder, "You could have left for another brothel a long time ago."

An uncomfortable silence dwelled in the air and Sasuke grew more smug with its increasing length. Until Naruto grumbled out, "I guess we're both fucked up. When you're a ninja that can't mold chakra what does it matter anymore?"

A fire sparked in Sasuke's chest. "That's just a fucking lie we tell ourselves to keep going. But deep down, it does fucking matter."

When the heat and the frustration stilled in Sasuke's chest, did Sasuke finally hear his own words. Everything mattered. He was hurting, as if someone had physically ripped his eyes from his sockets. He cared.

"Have you ever considered," Naruto began tentatively, "earning enough money to pay for an eye transplant?"

Splinters of wood shattered when Naruto crashed back into the table, then the bone of Sasuke's knuckles shattered across Naruto's face. The anger exploded from Sasuke's chest at the offense of those words. It was more than just his sight taken away from him. It was his sharingan, the very thing that made him an Uchiha, the very core of who he was. An eye transplant will never give that back to him.

The warmth of blood ran sticky down his knuckles. His raised his fist one more time over Naruto's expectant breath who withstood the abuse without resistance. One more well-placed strike could have ended Naruto's life for good but Sasuke's fist wavered in the air. Then his arm dropped and his shoulders slumped and he listened to Naruto's strained breathing.

Sasuke reached forward and Naruto's bloody cheek winced under the touch. With a deepening calm, Sasuke stroked his fingers down the crooked jaw.

Then Sasuke whispered, "It does matter."

* * *

With his cane to guide him, Sasuke walked down the stairs to meet his first client of the night.

"You went too far last time," the Madam said disapprovingly. She had always known what's been going on and establishing a hierarchy of power in a place that had no real power was common practice but beating one of her most productive whores to the point he couldn't perform the next night was a line crossed.

"Hn," Sasuke didn't care about her opinions. He ignored her and continued walking down the stairs.

At the sound of the Madam's exasperated breath, not wanting to continue this discussion in front of the clients she let the issue go, for now. Sasuke stopped at the bottom and could feel a stranger's eyes studying him. It was a new client.

"I thank you for your patronage," the Madam's tone had adjusted, as if she hadn't just been reprimanding Sasuke but instead, had been brushing her teeth with honey. "Madara Uchiha can certainly meet the level of discretion you require."

"He is very beautiful." Sasuke trained his ears on the feminine voice of his client and assumed her to be a woman, although he's been wrong before. There was nothing remarkable with what his client had said as many clients often remarked on his beauty, but the woman's voice was submerged in several layers he could not yet interpret.

"And worth every bit you paid for," the Madam assured her. As customary, Sasuke gave a bow. Then the client's hands were placed in his. Her hands were small, but sharp, and could easily be mistaken for fragile but there was a strength to them. As Sasuke led the client up the stairs and to his room, he listened for her footsteps, and heard none. He listened for the sound of her clothes moving against her skin, and heard none. The only thing he felt was the small pulse through her hand. This woman was a ghost, a skill above even his normal clients. If Sasuke had to guess… he was dealing with an ANBU Captain.

Once, Sasuke would have scoffed at that realization but handicapped as he was, there was an intriguing tingle of fear up his spine. His thoughts instantly became obsessed with this sudden enigma.

"Would you like some tea?" Sasuke asked. Some clients wanted to get straight to fucking and get the most out of their money. Others preferred a little more fantasy.

"I would love some."

Sasuke helped her sit before the tea table and went through the motions of the tea ceremony. Typically he would spike his own tea to make the night a little easier. The minutes began to wane as she lingered on her tea and didn't seem at all inclined to rush the evening.

"You are very skilled. The tea is exquisite." Sasuke listened for the moment when she finished and placed the cup back down onto the table but he never heard a sound. The woman didn't even have a scent on her, no perfume or spices. If he wanted to get her natural scent he had to get much closer than he was now.

"I am done."

Sasuke stood up, so familiar with the motions and the placement of items in his room that he easily cleaned the table away and moved it to a corner. Then Sasuke bowed to his knees before her and said, "I am yours for the evening."

He reached forward, slow because ninja were paranoid fucks, toward her voice and landed his finger on her lips. They were full and somewhat amused underneath his touch. He traced his finger down the jaw, the neck, and finally reached her clothes and began to fumble them off. He felt her fingers undo his belt and widen his robe. He parted her clothes, and after asking permission with a few slight touches, then he caressed his hands down her body.

Sasuke preferred men. It was always easier to get himself aroused around his male clients. Women were just too soft. He enjoyed the hard lines. But as he explored this woman's body, her ample breasts and curves, he realized that she was really attractive. Even he could appreciate what a woman had to offer every now and then.

He bent down and tasted the woman's heat on his tongue. He put more effort into it than normal, curious to see if he could make this woman make any sort of sound. She was wet by the time he was done but he couldn't force a sound, an orgasm, or so much as a wiggle.

Her thighs that have probably crushed men between them wrapped around his narrow waist. Suddenly Sasuke felt very uncomfortable in this position and couldn't place why. Then Sasuke felt rubber pressed into his hand. Admittedly, sometimes he forgot to put one on. Sasuke slid the condom over his dick and then thrust into her- fuck- it wasn't as tight as Sasuke preferred but it was moist and hot around his cock.

Finally, he heard sound as his hips thudded against her thighs. He heard his own moans as he pounded into this hot flesh. His hands dragged down her back, where scars were stretched like that of an empty cherry blossom tree. He tightened his hands around her hips and focused on the squeak every time he plunged into her depths.

Her leg lifted around his head and shifted angles, allowing Sasuke in deeper. Then the heel of her foot dug against his hip, allowing him even deeper. Sasuke clawed his hands around her butt, thrusting her forward to meet him, revealing an endless amount of flexibility Sasuke had never seen in his clients before.

Ero-ninja.

Sasuke came a second after that realization and was trapped in the uncontrollable release of his body. The leg around his head squeezed tighter around his neck, then slammed him into the ground. When the fog over his brain had diminished he found his body twisted in the trap she had set for him a long time ago.

"Who sent you?" Sasuke gasped. But his attacker didn't bother to answer. Sasuke heard the sudden crackle of lightning, and knew in the next second he was about to die.

The door slammed open. "Sasuke!"

Naruto's voice was a welcome relief.

Sasuke was flipped over at the sudden sound of struggle, but most importantly, the assassin's grip had been loosened and he escaped her grasp.

"Run!" Naruto yelled.

That word melted like acid on Sasuke's ears. He was so fucking tired of that word. Sasuke slammed his foot on the windowsill to balance his weight. Then his hands came together in a series of hand seals he could never forget, but the chakra coursing through his body sputtered with the years of little use. In the end it didn't matter. He didn't need to control this jutsu.

Ash congested in his throat. Smoke wafted across his tongue. The heat of fire lit Sasuke's face and rampaged from between his lips.

"Great Fireball Jutsu."

Smoke began to water Sasuke's eyes. He began to smell the burning of wood. He heard the familiar crackle of fire and the brothel was beginning to collapse. Deeper, there were screams. Closer, there was a heaving cough.

Sasuke reached out, grabbed Naruto's hand, and pulled him through the window. Naruto's footsteps stumbled awkwardly behind him. Sasuke was running blindly, nor did he care when he bumped into and trampled someone in the street.

"Where?!" Sasuke demanded angrily.

Finally Naruto coughed out, "Left."

Sasuke turned hard on his heel, felt his arm tighten with resistance, and dragged Naruto to follow.

The brothel burned down behind them, alighting Cloud's red light's district in fire.

* * *

**Sight**

* * *

 

Sasuke stood on the edge of a river that sang lullabies. The water nibbled at his toes and the wind brushed through his hair. Sasuke didn't know how he knew but he was instinctively aware of a full moon tonight. Then Sasuke pulled up his shirt and threw away the scents of the distant brothel. He dropped his pants and peeled away other people's wants and fantasies from him skin.

Sasuke stepped a foot into the sharp cold of the river. He waded forward and could feel the vibrations of fish wafting around his legs. Then he submerged his entire being and allowed the current to float him toward the surface.

The brothel had been nothing more than an illusion of freedom.

Water and conviction dripped down Sasuke's skin when he emerged from the river. Sasuke walked forward and outright sat on Naruto's lap, invoking a startled gasp at the sudden closeness of Sasuke's wet nakedness.

Sasuke acknowledged that he was weak. And the weak, Sasuke gritted his teeth to admit, needed bonds to survive.

"When I no longer need you I am going to kill you," Sasuke told Naruto, reasoning that a strong bond was built on a foundation of truth. Then Sasuke leaned forward until he could feel Naruto's nervous breath on his lips. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke felt the awkward chuckle that rumbled through Naruto's belly, but it soon died under the weight of Sasuke's smoldering stare. Finally, Naruto whispered, "You aren't kidding are you?"

"If you run, I will kill you," Sasuke threatened, punctuating his point by shoving Naruto back into the grass and reveled in the taste of power he could easily wield over the other man. Then, much to Naruto's relief, Sasuke lifted himself up, faced toward the direction the river flowed, and stilled in thought.

"Do you know of a good swordsmith?" Sasuke asked.

After a thoughtful silence, Naruto finally answered, "I know of one in Rain Country but… its Rain Country. Kind of dangerous for a ninja without chakra and a ninja who can't…" Naruto's final words were murdered by Sasuke's hard expression.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, put on his clothes, and started forward.

"Wrong way," Naruto spoke up timidly.

Sasuke grumbled, annoyed, and turned around. This time, Sasuke roamed his hand across the ground until he found a sturdy stick. He tapped is experimentally on the road, struck rock, and then struck ground. He placed one confident foot forward.

"What the fuck is your real name?" Sasuke said while motioning for his unlucky companion to follow. Sasuke always thought calling this man Naruto had been unseemly. This weak broken man was a pale comparison to the boy Sasuke had once known.

Sasuke listened to a tired and defeated sigh.

"My name is Iraiya."

* * *

x

* * *

_**It does matter.** _

* * *

 


	3. The Blind Bandit

The years had seemed to pass Sasuke as fleeting as a candle flame. It was as if he had woken up from some long nightmare to find that he had dwindled in his long complacency. His arsenal of higher class jutsu spun dangerously out of control whenever he tried to execute them. His reflexes had dulled and his taijutsu was on the distasteful level of a chuunin. The leaps and bounds he had made with wind chakra had receded to nonexistent.

Maybe Sasuke no longer had his sharingan, or Amaterasu, or Susanoo, but he still fucking had his pride even if it did take two years to find it again. Sasuke was determined to regain the physical peak he could claim so long ago during the Fourth Shinobi War.

Sasuke rose from an hour of breathing techniques that the Uchiha clan had perfected to strengthen their fire jutsu. He could feel power coursing through his chakra coils.

"Let's spar."

Sasuke heard a splash of water behind his ear. Iraiya complained, "I still haven't caught dinner yet."

Sasuke turned and swiveled his weight toward the man's voice. He certainly hadn't offered a choice. Sasuke's fist slammed into a forearm that clumsily blocked the attacked. From what Sasuke's knew of Iraya's build and height, Sasuke calculated the next attack, and slammed a kick straight into Iraiya's abdomen.

The wheeze of Iraiya's breath knocked back and slid along the ground.

"Are you sure you were ever a ninja?" Sasuke asked disgusted. If Iraiya couldn't be a challenge, his use was going to diminish quickly.

"You-surprised-at's all," Iraiya grunted as he shifted through the dirt. "I haven't fought since that day… since the Hyuuga…"

Sasuke didn't give Iraiya anytime to wallow.

Sasuke's fist hit the empty space of the ground. He felt the air move, twisted, and evaded the incoming attack. He listened to the shift of Iraiya's stance, focused on the rhythm of his opponent's breath, and reacted accordingly to each movement. With each blocked punch and successful strike, it felt as if Sasuke was coming more alive.

A smirk hung off Sasuke's lips when he was began to feel the pattern in Iraiya's attacks. "What kind of fighting style is that?"

"Every ninja of Snow Country learns it," Iraiya replied, his voice only a few meters away and anchoring Sasuke's attention. Sasuke noted it was a more defensive grappling style probably used in tandem with ninjutsu, which was why it seemed Iraiya was only half proficient with its use.

But Sasuke knew he could find an advantage for it. On instinct, as habit when encountering something foreign, Sasuke activated his sharigan.

And nothing happened but a punch to the face. Sasuke was tossed back from the blow, tripped over his feet at the unexpectedness of the attack, and fell humiliated to the ground.

Iraiya's laughter was chewed between the annoyed gratings of Sasuke's teeth. "That did feel good," Iraiya admitted with glee.

Anger erupted in Sasuke's limbs. He thrust himself forward into another attack, punched air, ran into the rough bark of a tree, and was knocked over by the brunt of Iraiya's kick. Sasuke blinked from the ground where the heat of the sun seared into his face.

"Hey, it's just a spar," Iraiya said cautiously as Sasuke picked himself up from the ground. Sasuke's hand flinched and found himself forming a series of hand seals that have never failed him.

"We all lose sometimes," Iraiya whispered, and then his feet began to withdraw back recognizing the jutsu.

Sasuke stopped. Iraiya released a sigh of relief at the unfinished fire jutsu that would have consumed him and the surrounding area in an inferno. Sasuke dropped his hands as slow as he dropped his anger - it took a very long time.

Sasuke stomped forward, shoving Iraiya in the shoulder as he past, and dropped cross-legged on the bank of the river. Sasuke stared into his darkness for hours.

Sasuke realized that he had lost the sparring match because all his senses had been blinded by his anger after Iraiya had landed that punch. And that left him compromised. If he wanted to survive, he was going to have to fight smart, analytically, and practically. In order to do that, Sasuke Uchiha was going to have to learn to control his anger, a skill which he had lost over the years.

Sasuke listened to the sound of the river traipsing past his feet. He smelled the fish crackling on the campfire and could taste anticipation in his mouth. He dug his fingers through the grass of the earth, and gave a small smile when his chakra reacted to the element. His anger and volatile emotions had always been more accustomed to fire and lightning. But when he forced himself to calm, and breathe, and feel – the earth was at his fingertips.

"Dinner is ready."

Sasuke picked himself up and neared the crackling fire and smell of fish. He sat down. Then patiently and meticulously he combed and discarded the fine bones before allowing himself to eat. He savored the taste of fish on his tongue and suddenly realized it wasn't the same as that distinct flavor of trout that traveled upstream in Fire Country. It was an odd thing to suddenly realize, and it was odder that it even mattered.

Sasuke's head swiveled in the direction of an unexpected sound. "Douse the fire," he ordered immediately. The heat of the flames were extinguished in a splash of water.

Carefully, a skill Sasuke was still trying to master, he directed chakra toward his ear drums. It was a delicate technique that required a master of chakra control, and unless you specialized in genjutsu like Itachi, chakra control wasn't an Uchiha's strength. If not careful, Sasuke could easily rupture an eardrum and never be able to hear again. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he concentrated on his chakra flow and managed to sharpen his hearing for a brief few seconds, but it was enough for Sasuke to realize that an army of footsteps were headed in their direction.

But it was too late to do anything about it. They had already been spotted.

Sasuke reached out slowly and felt along the ground for the stick he had claimed as a cane. Then he stood to his feet to face the strangers he no longer had to strain to hear. Their footsteps cracked on dead leaves.

"Look what we have here." Sasuke identified the stranger's voice – a deep baritone, menacing, dangerous.

"We have nothing of any value," Sasuke established immediately and didn't flinch when the owner of the voice began to invade his personal space.

"We'll see about that. Boys, search them."

Sasuke frowned. They had left the brothel with nothing else but the clothes on their backs – but it was nice clothes. He was ordered to strip with the sharp end of a kunai at his neck. Sasuke dropped his shirt and pants in a pile at his feet, leaving his boxers and the chill wind searing his skin.

Iraiya didn't even have that luxury, who had left the brothel in commando and his exposure caused an eruption of snickers.

By their rank smell, Sasuke determined these men had been out in the woods for a long time – bandits. There were seven, including those who hung back in the forest. Most were ninja. A couple were not. Still, it was too many to fight in his current condition.

"So, what are you two doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Honeymoon?" the leader inquired, obviously annoyed that he hadn't found much of value.

At that moment, Sasuke knew the leader wasn't going to let them survive this encounter. Thinking quickly, Sasuke answered, "We're whores. We were on our way to Cloud to sell ourselves. A blind man doesn't have the luxury of many other options."

The leader laughed at the sudden admission. Then dirty rough hands grabbed Sasuke's face. Sasuke tried his best not to flinch at the stench but it smelled as if the man took a shit and wiped his ass with his hands. "He is fucking blind," the leader laughed, as if he had stumbled upon the funniest thing in the world. His breath smelled like the rotting stench of skunk. "How about you sell yourselves to our services?"

"Do we have a choice?" Sasuke asked bluntly. The slap on his butt almost sent him stumbling over.

"No," the leader laughed. "None at all."

* * *

They were marched naked through the mountainous terrain of Lightning Country. All the while, Sasuke focused his thoughts on a way to escape. He and Iraiya might be able to entertain these men for a while but eventually they were going to get bored and kill them.

The air was thin when they stopped and the men began to make camp on the high terrain. Throughout dinner, it was obvious the leader had laid a claim to Sasuke as he was kept close to the leader's side. The fire was tinted with the smell of cooked mountain goat. Iraiya's stomach growl but they were never offered any food.

Sasuke attempted to gather whatever information he could in case it was useful for his escape. The leader was once a Mountain Jounin from what Sasuke could judge. Evidently all the bandits were displaced in some manner after the war: Kiri missing-nin, deserters, civilian men whose villages had been burned, Kumo-nin who refused to surrender, ninjas who couldn't reintegrate back into peacetime, or ninjas still living in one war or another whose taste for violence had not yet been quenched. They were men from different walks of life who had banded together in an attempt to survive, determined to take advantage before taken advantage of.

After dinner, the "Boss," as the other bandits called him, pulled Sasuke not so kindly up by the arm. "Have fun with the other one. He's all yours." The Boss declared, as if he was some benevolent ruler raining money down on the streets.

Sasuke heard Iraiya gasp but Sasuke hardly had time to weigh much thought toward Iraiya's predicament as he was pushed into the Boss' tent.

Sasuke knew his role and knew fighting back wasn't going to help him survive the next hour. Sasuke didn't hesitate to begin relieving the Boss of his clothes. He reasoned that he's done this a hundred times before in the brothel.

"You are a pretty boy aren't you?" The Boss asked.

Sasuke felt the sweaty thick cock press against his lips. Sasuke opened his mouth and almost gagged on the taste of piss. The sudden sound of laughter outside the tent suddenly distracted him from this torture. It could be worse.

Sasuke focused on the task and numbed his taste buds swirling around the man's hardening cock. Finally, by his hair, Sasuke was popped back and then shoved face first into the ground where Sasuke immediately spit the taste from his mouth.

Then Sasuke's darkness flashed with pain. He bit down on his tongue at the excruciating intrusion of the man's dick into his ass. He briefly wondered is this was how much it hurt when he did the same to Iraiya. The second thrust was just as excruciating. He focused on the cool earth tumbling across his forehead until his body relaxed and no longer resisted the jagged friction every time the Boss slammed into his ass.

Sasuke's hand clenched the dirt at this feeling of utter helplessness. He used to be one of the most feared ninja in the world and now he was nothing but a fuck toy to some nobody bandit. The Boss tensed and splattered his cum all across Sasuke's ass and down the back of Sasuke's thighs. Then the Boss' weight dropped atop his back and the naked man fell asleep.

Sasuke decided that perhaps there were worse things than Orochimaru. At least the Snake could cum in a straight line.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke tested the ropes that bound his wrists. He could easily maneuver out of them, but running and successfully getting away was the problem.

He walked beside Iraiya as they winded down the mountain trail. Iraiya was limping and continually falling behind, testing everyone's patience. Sasuke couldn't see Iraiya's condition but he knew it wasn't good as the bandits were up playing with him till early morning. When Iraiya collapsed in the middle of the road, forcing the bandits to stop completely, they were not happy.

"Get the fuck up or I promise you won't survive what we do to you tonight," one of the bandits threatened. Sasuke sensed the man raise his hand and immediately stepped between them. He did not want Iraiya to die and leave him alone with these depraved bandits. The fist meant for Iraiya instead hit Sasuke across the face. The ring around the man's knuckle cut a scar and blood ran across Sasuke's lip.

Sasuke turned, quickly brought a shoulder under Iraiya and continued to carry them forward. He could feel the bandit's glare burning into his back.

"Can you survive another night?" Sasuke whispered.

Iraiya only grunted, of which Sasuke had no idea was a yes or no. With a sigh, Sasuke finally decided to take stock of Iraiya's condition and brushed his hand against Iraiya's face which earned him a flinch. It explained why Iraiya could barely answer as the entire right side of his face was swollen. Dried blood was caked down the back of Iraiya's legs.

Sasuke decided that Iraiya wasn't going to survive another night. Sasuke's mind attempted to race with a plan. Then his head raised when his feet touched the creek of wood. The thunder of a waterfall engulfed all other sounds underneath its roar. Sasuke recognized they were crossing a bridge.

It took only one second for him to decide.

"Hold your breath," Sasuke whispered. Iraiya tensed in alarm. Sasuke swayed back on his weight, leaned against the straining rope of the bridge, and then continued over. The bandits' shouts of surprised were inconsequential to the beast of the waterfall. Falling, Sasuke escaped from the rope that held his hands.

Then, the shock of a cold crash. Sasuke tightened a hold around Iraiya's arm and refused to let go as they were tossed helpless against the currents. Sasuke gasped for breath as his hands found ground, and dragged himself and his dead weight to freedom.

* * *

"I should have killed all of them," Sasuke said with a smoldering entitlement for revenge as he sat beside the campfire brought to life by the flames of his own fire jutsu. Cold, hungry, and naked, Sasuke huddled against Iraiya's numb form.

He felt the shrug of Iraiya's shoulders. "You're not much different than they are. They want control over their own lives but sometimes, the most they can control is other people."

Sasuke snapped with heated anger at the unexpected comparison and seethed, drawing a hand around Iraiya's throat. "I am nothing like those scum."

Iraiya wheezed in an attempt to breathe through Sasuke's tightening grip. Sasuke conceded that he's certainly abused Iraiya in the past, to the point of death sometimes, but Sasuke considered himself better than those lesser beings.

He was better, wasn't he?

Sasuke jerked back and released his hand to Iraiya's sudden gulp of air. Sasuke turned back to the fire and glared at it as if it was reason for the sudden guilt in his chest. It certainly wasn't an emotion Sasuke was used to.

After several held minutes, Sasuke finally said, "We are not going to survive by ourselves to Rain Country. What do people normally do in this situation?"

"They normally hire ninjas," Iraiya said obviously. "But we have no money."

"What do civilians who do not have any money do then?" Sasuke asked frustrated.

"Civilians who are poor stay the fuck where they are, settle down, make their lives in some village and hope the affairs of ninja sweep over their heads," Iraiya said bitterly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He wanted a sword, and after this disastrous incident, he was all the more determined to get one. "We need our own bandit crew."

Iraiya scoffed. "Who the fuck is going to follow a blind ninja and a ninja who can't use chakra?" And then after a pause, "A naked blind ninja and a naked ninja who can't use chakra."

It was a good question. But he sure as hell didn't feel like being a bandit's fuck whore again. "We'll go into the next village and see if we can find someone stupid enough to follow us."

"No one's that stupid," Iraiya said bitterly.

"At least some clothes," Sasuke reasoned, annoyed. He was supposed to be the pessimist.

Iraiya grunted in concession.

Then Iraiya tensed when Sasuke suddenly moved closer. Sasuke frowned at Iraiya's flinch when Sasuke placed a hand on Iraiya's hip and felt offended that Iraiya dared assume he would take advantage of him in his current condition. With a forceful hand, Sasuke pinned Iraiya to the ground, scooted forward, and pressed his chest against Iraiya's back.

"We'll die of hypothermia," Sasuke reasoned as he drew forward against Iraiya's warmth and allowed exhaustion to overcome him. He didn't come this far to let the cold kill him. He was beginning to get used to doing whatever he had to do in order to survive. So for now, he was going to sleep naked against this other naked man.

He's certainly done worse.

* * *

The overwhelming stench of goat hit Sasuke the moment they entered the small mountain village. Sasuke strolled into that back-country village with all the pride and arrogance of a Raikage, when in fact, he was wearing nothing.

Sasuke felt the eyes on him, but at least he didn't have to see their expressions. Before entering, Iraiya had informed Sasuke that small Lightning villages like this one usually had no clothing stores or merchants but ran on a barter system instead. And if they wanted help, it was better to beseech the chieftain of the village and cause no trouble because even though these villages were small, they often had direct access to whichever one of Kumo's clans oversaw this mountain range.

"Can I help you two?" A man asked. His voice was withered in years.

"We have no money. We need clothes." Sasuke said bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"Well, we certainly can't have you two walking around like that. Let me see what I can find," the elder said and as customary invited them to dinner.

Sasuke opened his mouth to reject the offer. All he wanted was his clothes and to get away from the smell of goat shit. Iraiya interrupted suddenly, "Of course."

"What the fuck?" Sasuke demanded.

"Customs," Iraiya said insistently, "and it's free dinner."

Sasuke and his stomach admittedly couldn't argue with that reasoning. It didn't take long to find them some clothing. The shirt was itchy and too tight against Sasuke's skin and the poncho smelled as if it had been hanging out with the goats but it was clothing.

To both Iraiya's and Sasuke's surprise, they weren't the only ninjas in the village. Both tensed on alert when they entered the chieftain's home and found a woman who obviously didn't move like a civilian.

"Are these the boys that walked into the village with nothing but what their mother's birthed them in?" She was an older woman, Sasuke determined, and spoke with the weariness of a mother but the deadliness of a kunoichi.

"Aye," the elder laughed at that. "Come sit, we have plenty of goat stew."

Sasuke didn't doubt that. Despite the invitation, Sasuke chose to distance himself from the unknown kunoichi. Evidently his glares were getting a tad too uncomfortable as Iraiya attempted to settle the air.

"Have you been hired to protect this place? You carry no hitai-ite," Iraiya asked.

"Neither do you," The kunoichi responded. "I'm simply passing through. If I may ask, what happened?"

Sasuke could feel the fidget of Iraiya's embarrassment. "Some bandits stole all our stuff."

"Bandits," the elder clicked his tongue. "They've gotten worse and bolder since the war ended. A few weeks ago, some took off with a few of our goats."

"Be grateful that the war did not touch this place," the kunoichi said with surprising patience and wisdom.

After dinner, and before Sasuke could intercede, Iraiya agreed to the elder's hospitality to stay the night.

"This is idiotic. We should leave," Sasuke said, a little more than annoyed with so many new people choking him with their presence. He would rather be out in the middle of the woods alone, with Iraiya.

"You don't understand," Iraiya sighed deeply. "Lightning's mountain villages aren't as wary of strangers as most are since they are protected by their patron clan. The Clan Head that rules this region literally have the ability to send a bolt of lightning down on the people they don't like anywhere in their territory. To err on the safe side, it's better not to offend."

Sasuke huffed and wished all small villages were as distrustful of strangers as those in Fire Country. Sasuke grunted and turned over when Iraiya handed him a rough blanket but he was too tense to get to sleep. Before, Sasuke would not have thought twice about closing an eye in some harmless little village but he was much more aware of all the things that could threaten or kill him.

Iraiya laid beside him in the small hut, and a few minutes his breathing relaxed, and Sasuke knew he was sleep. Over the weeks, Sasuke learned it didn't take much for Iraiya to fall asleep and he envied that ability tonight. Restless, Sasuke shoved out the tent with a grumble.

The night was heavy with sleep but for the whistle of wind that winded through the mountaintops. To get a better understanding of his surroundings, Sasuke took a step forward and set his hand down. His touch studied the shaven wood of the enormous pine trees that forested several of the mountain ranges. His nose upturned at the smell of dye and brushed his hand over tools for dying cloth. He passed a small spring and allowed the smooth water to flow over his hands before bringing it to his lips. It was the freshest water he had ever tasted.

"Some say it has healing properties. Some say it can even heal a broken heart."

Sasuke swiveled toward the voice of the kunoichi and hated that he had been caught by surprise.

"I followed to make sure you weren't planning anything against these people. They have been good to me and not many people are."

Sasuke released his hands tangled in a seal, slightly, but did not relax. He refused to be taken advantage of again. Then Sasuke tensed and completed a second seal when the woman passed him only a hair's breadth away, so close he could smell overturned dirt in her scent. He listened as a hand dipped in the spring, a gulp, and a smiling breath.

"It must be hard for a ninja who has lost his sight," The kunoichi said, but with a voice as contradictory firm and soft.

Sasuke didn't like the fact she could guess so much about him. Sasuke threatened. "I can still kill you."

"You remind me of my son," The kunoichi whispered. "The first moment I laid eyes on you… so angry, and brash… and entitled," the kunoichi chuckled. "Perhaps what they say is true. Killers like us aren't meant to raise children."

"My mother raised me well," Sasuke said defensively. It was all the other things in his life that had gone wrong.

"Is she proud of you?" The kunoichi asked, sincerely curious.

It was an odd question, one that Sasuke had never asked of himself. He forced himself to stop thinking about his mother the day she died. It had been the only way he could cope. "It does not matter. She's dead."

"People being dead doesn't keep them from affecting our lives," the kunoichi whispered. "My son sided with Mountain in the civil war because he refused to put aside his anger for the father he lost to Konoha in the Third Shinobi War. Iwa called us to fight but I refused to fight against my own son. I was imprisoned and labeled a traitor. When news finally reached me of my son's death, I decided I was tired of prison. He died here in Lightning Country."

"You've come to bury him?" Sasuke asked, finally understanding the woman's purpose for being here.

"Bury him with my heart, I guess. What about you? Have you buried your dead?"

Sasuke stared into his darkness, into a fire that had long embodied his hate and anger and vengeance, the same fire fueled by the corpses of the massacred Uchiha. He couldn't bring himself to bury the ashes, to let them go, because if he did that, then what would be left of him?

"I can't," Sasuke whispered. "Not yet."

Sasuke stepped back in alarm when a warm hand enveloped his, then lifted his palm. Sasuke breathed when the kunoichi placed his hand on her face. She had scars of a veteran kunoichi and the wrinkles of a woman in her early forties. Her nose was crooked as if it once had been broken. She was tall, even taller than Sasuke with a posture as rigid as a Mountain but her lips were soft as spring water.

Sasuke saw her.

"Goodnight child," The missing-nin Iwa kunoichi whispered after withdrawing his hand.

Sasuke turned as she passed him, then he stepped forward. "Where are you headed after this?"

"Not Iwa," the kunoichi responded with a bitter laugh, and then with a smile answered the question Sasuke was too embarrassed to ask. "But I suspect we're headed the same way."

* * *

"The name is Iraiya," Iraiya introduced himself when he realized the kunoichi was traveling with them that morning. Sasuke hadn't bothered to fill him in.

"My name is Kuvira," The Iwa kunoichi greeted. After the introductions were over, conversation fell to the sounds of the early morning and the bleating of goats in the distance.

Sasuke felt better, if only a little. Even though he hadn't been in a three-man squad in a long time, it was a familiar formation. Also, neither of his companions seemed to be endless talkers, like the sort he had to endured as a genin.

Sasuke preferred to be alone, but this wasn't so bad either.

As usual, whenever they had time to settle down and take a break, Sasuke further honed his ninjutsu and taijutsu skills. Over his shoulder, he could hear Kuvira ask over a boiling chestnut stew, "I've never seen you train."

Iraiya shifted nervously atop a boulder and a short pause revealed Iraiya's hesitance. In a move Sasuke disapproved of, no matter how comfortable they've grown with their third companion over the weeks of traveling, Iraiya answered, "I can't. My chakra networks were irreparably damaged during the war."

Sasuke hadn't expected the delightful ironic laugh that escaped Kuvira's lips. "So we have a blind ninja, one that can't use chakra, and a kunoichi well past her prime? What a trio we make."

"For what it's worth I'd be afraid to fight you, chakra or not," Iraiya admitted.

Sasuke didn't know how but he could hear her smile, or perhaps he was just imagining it, her lips stretching and challenging the lines on her face and the crow's feet at the edge of her eyes. Somewhat like his aunt used to do.

"I'm curious," Kuvira said, in that way of cherishing a sudden luxury to question the world. "Is a ninja still a ninja if he cannot use chakra?"

Sasuke stopped mid-punch, the question eerily similar to the one revolving around his thoughts every waking moment: "Is an Uchiha still an Uchiha if he cannot use his sharingan?"

"Possibly," Iraiya answered and Sasuke leaned forward into the weight of his punch. "You've heard of Konoha's Second Coming of the Green Beast? They say he can't use chakra and yet he's still a feared ninja. But I guess, if you're asking me… then, I don't have the heart for it anymore."

"You don't want to be a ninja, not because you can't, but because you don't want to?" Sasuke snarled, twisting on his heels to question. "That's fucking pathetic."

"Not all of us can be obsessively relentless as you," Iraiya said snidely.

"It's a matter of survival. The weak don't survive in this world. We are ninjas because we have to be," Sasuke reasoned.

"Only if your main priority is survival."

"Why shouldn't it be?"

"Why is it?" Iraiya pressed. "Going blind is fucked up, why do _you_ want to live so badly?"

"Because I'm the last!" Sasuke snapped, then his eyes widened at the admission, and even though neither Kuvira nor Iraiya had the entire context to fully understand his words, Sasuke grew angry because he finally understood them. Sasuke never questioned why he wanted to survive so badly, he was too used to simply doing and too used to never caring to stop and explore why he did the things he did.

Sasuke got his hands around Iraiya's throat. Then Sasuke yelped at an unexpected strike against his groin and he went tumbling down. He elbowed Iraiya in the chest for a wheeze and hit the back of his head against the rocks.

"Boys!" Suddenly a wedge of earth forcibly parted the two. Kuvira demanded, "Corners!"

And the two boys skulked on their opposite ends.

Sasuke crossed his arms and had nothing or no one else to direct his anger but to himself. Sasuke had to survive because it was a matter of pride - he was the Last Uchiha… but only if Sasuke could bring himself to answer the question.

* * *

They were almost to the border of Lightning country. Sasuke stopped when his walking cane dipped into the ground. He crouched and searched the earth to find footprints had crossed this path headed west, about seven of them.

"Did you find something?" Kuvira asked as she approached over his shoulder.

"It's them," Sasuke said in a low revelation. Sasuke straightened and turned down the path the tracks led.

"Are you insane?" Iraiya asked following on his heels. "We were outnumbered before and that hasn't changed much now. What exactly are you planning to do?"

"We have the surprise this time." Sasuke nodded his head, he knew very well that sometimes having the first attack was all a ninja needed to make a difference.

"After all of your ranting about survival and here you are going to get yourself killed."

Annoyed that he had suddenly found Iraiya in his way, Sasuke snatched the man by his shirt and slammed him against a rock.

"Revenge isn't going to keep you alive," Iraiya grumbled bitterly.

"It's more than revenge," Sasuke snapped and couldn't comprehend how Iraiya didn't feel the same. Granted, neither of them spoke about what happened that night with the bandits and in the days that had passed seemed to have been dust swept into the past. "I _have_ to."

"No, you don't," Iraiya said stubbornly.

Frustrated, Sasuke questioned impossibly, "How can you go to sleep so easily? If I don't kill them here and now, it'll always be hanging over my head, keeping me awake at night. I _need_ to kill them."

Sasuke felt the quick blink of Iraiya's eyelashes as the man he held said slowly, "You're scared?"

_Scared?!_

Sasuke dropped Iraiya at the thought. Sasuke scoffed. Him? Scared? It was an emotion he hadn't felt since he walked into the Uchiha compound that fateful night. He certainly wouldn't know what the emotion looked like if it had crept up behind him.

"Are you going to help me kill them or not?" Sasuke seethed.

"I'll do what I'm capable," Iraiya relented.

"You know, you two would fight a lot less if you talked things out a little more," Kuvira observed as the two boys walked away from each other to breathe. "Ah, but little boys will be stubborn. What are the power levels of these bandits?"

"Two are civilians but they're nasty and mean," Iraiya spat. "The leader is a Jounin and the last four average around chuunin level."

Sasuke nodded. It was settled. They were going to do this. Sasuke turned and charged down the path as if his destiny and all the answers he sought awaited him on the other end.

* * *

Sneaking up on the bandits had certainly been an easier task than sneaking up on an organized ninja squad. Sasuke had waited until night time, when the alcohol still swam in the bandit's chakra networks, to make his approach. The bandits had been so arrogant in their safety, they hadn't even placed anyone on watch. Sasuke nudged Iraiya in the arm.

"The leader is in his tent at the far right. The rest are huddled at the center of camp. Wait, one got up to take a piss. Think he's one of the civilians." Sasuke could hear the bandit strayz toward the edge of camp and listened to the stream of piss splatter atop the rocks.

"Can you handle him?" Sasuke asked.

Iraiya disappeared from Sasuke's side without an affirmation. Then Sasuke heard a hand slap over someone's face and knew he could rely on Iraiya to this task at least. Sasuke whistled and gave the signal to Kuvira on the other side. Sasuke didn't see but heard as the ground shifted to form a massive tomb over the huddled sleeping forms. Eventually they were going to suffocate to death and it'll be too late by the time they woke up.

What an efficient, silent, and deadly jutsu he was going to have to ask Kuvira to teach him later. Sasuke crept forward, reaching his hand out to creep around the solid smooth tomb. The leader's tent flapped in the gentle wind. He could taste the anticipation on his tongue. All the time while getting here, Sasuke had been thinking how he was going to kill the son of a bitch who had taken advantage of him: smash, crush, suffocate, stab… and Sasuke finally decided.

Sasuke didn't stifle the noise he made to draw open the tent flap, allowing the relentless chill of Lightning Country to attack.

"What the fuck?" That familiar voice shouted. Sasuke wanted his target to see the face of the man who killed him, even if Sasuke's stupid eyes had robbed him of the man's expression once he realized what was coming for him.

But it was okay. There were other ways Sasuke could see. His fingers completed the hand seals and a white hot forge erupted in the pit of his belly. Sasuke held the power of the flames for as long as he could in his throat, fanning its power, until finally he breathed fire.

Sasuke smiled as he listened to the screams, the high-pitched panicked screams that enveloped him like a soothing lullaby. He smelled the distinct scent of skin and hair burning, calming him like the addictive effects of incense. It was true that the man's death didn't change much in the larger scheme of things, but Sasuke sure as hell felt better.

* * *

Lightning was a huge and difficult country to traverse. When you finally managed to descend the never-ending mountain range, the moment your foot touched the bottom, you were practically in Snow Country.

"You're originally from Snow Country, aren't you?" Kuvira asked Iraiya.

"Doesn't even matter anymore. I never told my family about my condition. For all they know I was still working as a ninja in Lightning Country. I had managed to find employment to continue sending money to them until recently. My family probably think I'm dead now."

Sasuke scoffed. Then he raised his eyes to the sky where powdered snow fell on his face as soft as a mother's kiss.

"But we need to find shelter soon," Iraiya spoke quickly. "This flurry is going to turn into a blizzard. There's a small village up ahead and we should be able to barricade ourselves there."

They quickened their pace. Sasuke was grateful for the coats and extra clothing they stole off the bandits, an eye for an eye and all. He was even more grateful for the pouches of kunai and shuriken he could now claim at his hip.

When they entered the village, the residents themselves were shutting their doors and bolting their windows. Sasuke and his group managed to get inside the local tavern before the doors were permanently locked to weather the coming storm.

Sasuke frowned the moment he stepped into the crowded and boisterous tavern. The sudden noise was so disorienting he drew back and clutched at Iraiya's sleeve. "Just civilians," Iraiya whispered. "There is a ninja in the corner but he doesn't seem to be looking for a fight."

Sasuke held onto Iraiya's elbow as Iraiya deftly swerved Sasuke out the path of drunken men stumbling across the bar. They sat down at the only empty table they could find. The moment they did, hard metal mugs were slammed down on the wood. "First round is on the house. Welcome to Snow Country."

The storm began to rattle the doors but the heat of the crowd locked down the room. Sasuke jerked up suddenly when two empty mugs clanked in succession back onto the table.

"Whoa," Iraiya said, equally surprised. "I thought Iwa ninja didn't know how to drink."

"We don't," Kuvira chuckled, then reached forward and relieved Sasuke of his own mug as if he was taking too long. "But nothing warms the bones like Snow Country's ale."

Iraiya ordered an entire pitcher using the money they stole from the bandits. Furthermore, Iraiya ordered a drink for the man in the corner. Sasuke elbowed Iraiya in the arm for such a stupid purchase, but instead he received a strong gulp and seconds later another empty mug was slammed against the table.

Sasuke quickly reached for his before someone decided to help him with it. He brought it to his lips and sipped it testily, receiving both mocking laughs from both of his companions.

"Geez Sasuke, it's not poison," Iraiya laughed and Sasuke realized he didn't hear that sound very often.

Annoyed by their teasing, Sasuke upturned the mug, trying to gulp down as fast as he could but some escaped down the edges of his mouth. Sasuke sat up alert once he emptied it. It tasted as if he had literally swallowed fire. He certainly wasn't used to it going down the other way. He coughed and attempted to play off his inexperience with alcohol, but he wasn't fooling anyone.

Sasuke was relieved when everyone's attention shifted to the screech of a stool and a heavy-set pair of footsteps approached them. Sasuke reached for a kunai just in case.

"Thanks for the drink," the man replied.

Iraiya's shoulder brushed past Sasuke's arm as he leaned forward. "Kind of dangerous hanging about so close to Lightning Country, you think?"

Suddenly the warmth was swallowed by a chill of silence, until the man finally asked, "You hunter-nin?"

"You'd be dead by now if we were. Graduating class 09'," Iraiya responded casually.

"07'!" the stranger loudly proclaimed.

A creak of the chairs and both Iraiya's and the stranger fist-bumped. It was at this point that Sasuke realized they had run into another Kumo missing-nin.

"What are you doing here so close to home?" Iraiya asked, getting a lot more talkative the more alcohol he consumed. Sasuke kept an ear to the conversation for the sake of information, but quickly downed his second mug of ale under everyone's notice once he determined this new presence was not a threat. This time, Sasuke studied the drink – the hard attack on the tongue was relentless, he couldn't taste a flavor and if it did, it was surely consumed by the eruption of heat down his throat and warmed him like no fire jutsu possibly could. Sasuke admitted somewhat silently to himself, he kind of liked it.

"The bartender is an old family friend. I've sort of been hiding out with his family," The Kumo-nin admitted. "Headed toward Rain Country actually. I hear you can lose the hunter-nins there."

"Us too," Iraiya slurred as if it must have been fate.

"The name is Jirui Komatsu."

"Iraiya Yuukio," Iraiya said in turn. "You're a clan ninja. How did you end up missing?" Iraiya asked as if it was some sort of condition and they could find their way back anytime they wanted.

Jirui voice strained with bitterness. "I was at the gate. I watched Karui placed down her sword and surrender, my own fucking cousin. The Raikage surrendered afterwards and now half our men are imprisoned in Konoha. I'll never surrender," Jirui seethed. "Never. Lightning Country isn't what it used to be."

"Life's a bitch and then you die," Iraiya hoisted his mug.

"That's why we so high," Jirui slapped his mug with Iraiya's and they both drank deeply until it was gone. Then both sang in unison, "Cloud ninja know when you gotta go."

It was the oddest drinking ritual Sasuke had ever seen. As if inspired by their horrible voices, someone across the tavern began, "Oh, there were 99 bottles of beer on the wall, Tsunade just found, now ones gone, there were 98 bottles of beer on the wall…"

Sasuke had to wonder how Tsunade's name had become so omnipresent in drinking games – many claimed it was some pervy sage that had evangelized the name of Tsunade to bar patrons all over the world.

It was somewhere around 48 bottles, when Sasuke found himself racing both Iraiya, Kuvira, and Jirui, slamming mugs again and again on the table to the raucous crowd. Sasuke choked on his fourth and spat the mouthful of ale in his cheeks to the floor. Iraiya wasn't far behind and waved out of the competition to the boos of the crowd. Sasuke didn't remember who actually won.

Somewhere around 32 bottles, Sasuke's legs wobbled and realized in a sudden moment of clarity that he was standing on the table. Arms were locked around his shoulders and Sasuke laughed as he sang off-key to the song.

Somewhere around 20 bottles, Sasuke felt a chill hit his bare chest but didn't care. Idly, he wondered where his shirt had gone but who needed one of those?

Somewhere around 13 bottles, Sasuke found the taste of alcohol overwhelmed by someone else's tongue. Sasuke breathed in the scent of pine forest and greedily roamed his hands against someone's chest. He felt a tug on his hand, a whispered breath behind his ear, and stumbled as he was being pulled up a flight of stairs.

"He's mine." Sasuke felt himself being pulled back into the arms of Kuvira's familiar voice. Her words weren't possessive but rather matter-of-fact as if saving him from something he'll regret. Sasuke felt the air swoosh around him and laughed like a child thrown into the air by his mother as Kuvira carried him back down the stairs.

Somewhere around 7 bottles, Sasuke found himself in familiar arms, twirling about the room and stuck in a body that knew it couldn't dance but attempted to anyways. Luckily his partner was better at it. Sasuke leaned forward, dipping his face into the scent of maple leaves.

Then they tripped over each other. Sasuke fought with Iraiya's laughing limbs, reached up to grab a chair only to find he misjudged the distance to fall back down in a tumble of his own laughter. Sasuke couldn't stop himself while his laughter drowned him in its own discordant chortle.

Eventually Sasuke gave up and rested his spinning head. "Naruto," Sasuke whispered. "I'm drunk."

"Me too."

After 0 bottles, Sasuke didn't remember anything else.

People say you haven't lived until you've experienced a blizzard in Snow country.

* * *

Sasuke hated the taste of vomit that passed through his throat and finally splattered at the bottom of the urinal. He hated the sound of Iraiya's laughter even more.

"First time?"

"You had more than me," Sasuke whined, and winced at the ringing bells clashing in his head with every sound. Sometimes he wasn't entirely sure the bells were only in his head.

"I have a… fuck."

Sasuke smirked vindictively at the sound of retching next to him. Iraiya sucked in a breath when he was finally able to breathe and chuckled, "First time for me too."

Instead of getting up to go, Sasuke rolled over and collapsed in Iraiya's lap, which was far preferable than face-first in the urinal.

Finally, Sasuke muttered, "What happened to my shirt?"

Sasuke felt the rumbles of laughter in Iraiya's chest. "We raced each other sliding across the tavern, remember?" Then Iraiya scratched his head. "But I can't remember if that was before or after you were shoving your tongue down that old guy's throat."

"Enough," Sasuke demanded, "We never talk about this night again."

"Agreed."

Both men jerked startled when the door slammed open, which literally sounded as if Madara had exploded a bijuu bomb in the bathroom.

Jirui stormed inside and asked, "Do you know the best cure for a hangover when you're snowed in?"

"Erm."

"More alcohol!"

* * *

Sasuke felt as if he needed weeks to recover from those blurry three days in Snow Country. For some reason, Sasuke didn't know why, they had stayed an unnecessary third day that Sasuke had for the better part spent sleeping underneath the bar. Finally, they were back on the road and slowly did the alcohol seem to digest from his system.

Sasuke was pleased with the company he had acquired. Four was a good number, certainly enough to make any other roving bandit gangs hesitate. Iraiya seemed to feed off of Jirui's energy and they often talked and took point walking the lead. Sasuke hung back beside the silent but observant Kuvira.

As they neared the border of Snow Country, Sasuke knew they had a really important topic to discuss. As they feasted on elk for the night, Sasuke interrupted the comfortable tone that had formed between one another. "Our destination is Rain Country but once we cross the border there are several paths we can take to get there."

"Aye," Jirui agreed.

The leather of Kuvira's pants creaked as she leaned forward with attention. Iraiya didn't stop smacking on his meat.

Sasuke didn't need to see an actual map. He had the sharingan long ago imprint one in his memories. "There are three options. Option one: We take a boat, sail west to Iwa, and turn south from there. Option two: Travel through the lesser countries. Option three: cut across Fire Country, which is our fastest route."

"You know how I feel about Iwa," Kuvira answered.

"I don't know about Fire Country," Iraiya started. "I know it's our fastest route but…" Sasuke could feel Iraiya's eyes on him and his reticence aloud to speak his doubts. Kuvira nor Jirui knew who Sasuke truly was as he never shared his last name. "I think going through the lesser countries would be safer."

"I wouldn't mind ruffling some of Konoha's leaves," Jirui offered.

"I heard ever since Uzumaki took office, security in Fire Country has tightened quite a bit. Our safest bet is the lesser countries," Kuvira reasoned. "Besides, are we in a rush?"

Not really, Sasuke admitted to himself. "Option two, then," Sasuke said after weighing the consensus. He didn't like taking the slow route, but he no longer had the luxury to carve a path of fire wherever he wanted to go.

As Sasuke began to eat with his "bandit crew", Sasuke's thoughts lingered on the irony of it all. During his years as a genin he had escorted clients to protect them from bandits. Chuunins were hired to protect whole villages from bandit raids.

'Bandits', Sasuke was beginning to realize, was nothing more than a word used to label individuals looking for a way to survive outside the ninja system. Bandits were outcasts, missing-nins, and people displaced from their homes or ideologies or morals.

They were the people he sat around the fire eating dinner with.

"I miss pancakes," Jirui offered as he distastefully forced himself to eat the rough and gamey elk.

"Sugarcane," Kuvira answered in turn. "Sugar is banned in Iwagakure but when I visited my grandmother out in the countryside, she always let me suck on one. I haven't had it since I was a girl but I'll never forget what it tastes like."

"Potato soup," Iraiya answered, "but only my mother's soup. She was the only person who could make it exactly how I liked it."

"Tomatoes," Sasuke whispered, "Sometimes my cousins and I would make a game stealing them out of my aunt's garden. She'd get so angry and her face would get red as one of the tomatoes. I had thought it was the funniest thing in the world."

* * *

Traveling through the Land of Hot Water had been uneventful but the moment they entered Sound Country, Sasuke grew wary of the congestion of travelers on the road. Sasuke had to grab ahold of Kuvira's arm to keep him from getting separated as wagons and mules shoved him by.

Kuvira observed, "This country has changed so much since I've been here last."

Sasuke could certainly say the same. This had been the country Orochimaru had played with like a child at toys, often popping off their heads just to see if he could.

"It used to be on the brink of economic collapse and civil war but now with their new Kage everything has turned around. Even though Sound is still a small country, some say that is has grown into an economic powerhouse to rival the Great Nations."

"New Kage?" Sasuke questioned.

"I think his name is Juugo. Never heard of him before he became Kage so I don't think he's a very infamous ninja. I guess it goes to show you that the strongest ninja isn't always the right candidate to lead a country."

"Juugo?" Sasuke whispered in disbelief. Sasuke hadn't thought of Juugo in years and never would have guessed the man, the only one Sasuke could tolerate out of team Taka, would become the Kage of Sound Country.

"Hey guys," Sasuke looked up when Iraiya drew back, "evidently everyone is headed to a festival in the Village Hidden by Rice Paddies. They say it's the biggest spring festival of the year."

"No," Sasuke said immediately.

"Iwa doesn't have any festivals…" Kuvira said thoughtfully, then tucked her arm over Sasuke as if he didn't have much say in the matter, and the band of missing-nin headed toward the capital of Sound Country.

The moment Sasuke entered through the open gates, he was instantly overwhelmed. He constantly whipped around at the sound of chiming bells, which Iraiya had to explain everyone wore on their clothing. The time Sasuke had spent in Sound Country had never been in the capital and found the bell tradition rather frivolous. It was useful to hear someone coming up behind you, but when it was a whole crowd, Sasuke felt as if he was being suffocated by carols.

"Here." Sasuke grimaced when Iraiya placed something on his face and tied it against the back of his head. "It's a mask. Everyone is wearing them."

Sasuke reached to take the stupid thing off. It weighed unevenly on the bridge of his nose. He felt feathers and beads and sequins that he wanted off of his face right now. Iraiya caught his arm. "We're missing-nin remember? We can never be too careful."

"Good idea," Kuvira said as she tied on hers and then sighed. "My boys would have loved this when they were younger."

"What now?" Jirui asked.

"There's a bell tower at the center of the city. Can you hear it?" Kuvira asked. Sasuke nodded. It was hard to miss as the tower chimed every hour in celebration. "We'll meet there if we get separated."

It didn't take long. Jirui had deviated toward a row of stalls offering free samples of exotic alcohol. Sasuke decided to steer clear. Kuvira paused at a stall filled with rare jewels, but the crowd kept going, sweeping both Sasuke and Iraiya forward.

"I hate festivals," Sasuke muttered as he grabbed onto Iraiya's arm for dear life, digging in with his nails. It was hot on the crowded streets and Sasuke felt the sweat condense on the back of his neck.

"It's not too bad," Iraiya said as wrenched Sasuke's nails out of his skin and grabbed his hand instead, pulling him through the crowd to a space where they can breathe. Sasuke stopped and listened to the "Ooh's" and "Aah's" of a clapping crowd.

"It's a magic show," Iraiya exclaimed.

"So," Sasuke muttered. It wasn't as if he could see it. He frowned at the tightening grip of Iraiya's sweaty palm. He hated this festival even more because he needed to be lead around like frightened child. Still, it was more preferable than getting lost in all this.

Both Sasuke and Iraiya's stomach began to growl.

"They have lots of food stalls," Iraiya pointed out. "It looks like there's some kind of competition between the vendors."

Sasuke approached the first smell of food he could find. "Whatever you've got," Sasuke demanded. Iraiya laughed when Sasuke was suddenly handed a large stick of meat with sauce dripping down the hairs of Sasuke's arm.

Sasuke testily bit into it and an explosion of flavors burst on his tongue. Sasuke determined the meat had to have been lathering in a delicious concoction of spices, which blended perfectly with the sauce. It was far superior to the food they had on the road. "Hmm," Sasuke smacked his lips and gnawed on the bone, even licking the errant sauce from his arm.

Sasuke moved to the next stall.

Growing up, the Uchiha clan always had money. Before the massacre, Sasuke always had the luxury of eating the finest ingredients and meals. He knew what the best tasted like and the best restaurants in the Great Shinobi Nations had converged on this festival. Sasuke jumped from one food stall to the next, savoring the flavor and turning it over on his tongue.

"Ichiraku Ramen at your service, what can we do for you?"

Sasuke froze. The booth was rather crowded and in his hesitation, someone had cut in front of him and ordered. It was Iraiya who managed to shove them back to the front of the line.

Sasuke was handed a small packaged container so people could walk around the festival at eat at the same time. The steam of the ramen warmed his face.

"I've never had this before," Iraiya said excitedly as he pulled apart wooden chopsticks. "Everyone says Ichiraku's Ramen is the top ten tourist locations of Konoha."

"Hn." Sasuke broke apart his chopsticks, twirled them in the noodles, and slurped them into his mouth. The texture of the noodle was the perfect mixture of hard and soft. The broth was seasoned to perfection, complimenting and adding richness to the toppings. The first time Sasuke ever had Ichiraku's Ramen had been the week it first opened and Itachi wanted to try something new.

He hated going with Naruto to the ramen shop because he hated the memories it invoked. Even that first time, he had been so caught up in trying to convince Itachi to train him, and then trying to hate it every time afterwards, that Sasuke never really tasted it before now.

It… wasn't bad.

An explosion of sound thundered overheard.

When Sasuke heard Iraiya's following laughter, he realized the sound had just been fireworks. Sasuke rose from his tense crouch and released the chopstick from between his hand seals.

"Come on," Iraiya insisted as he caught a hold of Sasuke's hand and led him through the crowd, until eventually Iraiya climbed up and they scaled toward a roof. Sasuke was appreciative of the open air and that they had left the congestion of the crowd far below their feet.

As Iraiya watched the fireworks, Sasuke savored his box of Ichiraku's Ramen.

"A burst of a blue storm," Iraiya began to describe after each boom of fireworks. "A shower of golden rain." "That last wisp of a candle." "A field of fireflies." "Bright as the sun over Fire Country in summer."

"Can you see them?" Iraiya asked in a whisper that sent an eruption of fireworks through Sasuke's stomach.

Sasuke leaned forward and rested against Iraiya's shoulder and the smell of maple leaves. Sasuke thumbed his finger over Iraiya's scarred knuckles. The taste of ramen lingered on his tongue. A small series of explosions erupted overhead.

A meteor shower one late spring night.

Finally Sasuke answered, "I can see."

* * *

Sasuke noted the limp first. When they passed by the stranger on the road, Sasuke observed the distinctive smell of the sea. And as they continued down the overgrown roads of Waterfall Country, the limp continued to drag behind them.

That night when they sat down for dinner and the smell of deer clouded over the camp, the limp approached. Sasuke suspected that the stranger had been observing them throughout the day.

"Where are you headed?" The voice asked. It was so ambiguous that Sasuke couldn't determine a gender.

"Rain Country," Kuvira answered.

Without asking for permission, the stranger reached forward with a stomach grumbling restlessly. Sasuke didn't understand why, but the warm conversation had chilled with the newest addition. Before Sasuke could ask what was going on, Kuvira's curiosity beat him to it.

"You still will wear your Mist hitai-ite," Kuvira noted and offered a canteen of water in good gesture.

The stranger's voice soured and clarified, rather annoyed, like a snob correcting someone's grammar. "I am not a missing ninja. It is my village that has gone missing."

"Then what are you doing all the way out here?" Iraiya asked.

"Looking for it," the stranger said simply.

"My name is Kuvira," Kuvira offered. Everyone gave introductions in turned. Iraiya introduced Sasuke because Sasuke couldn't be bothered.

The stranger said in response, "I am a Mist ninja," and that was all.

* * *

Sasuke evaded the punch and his kick glanced across Iraiya's forearm. Sasuke side-stepped, quickly spun, caught Iraiya's outstretched attack, and flipped the man over his shoulder. Sasuke quickly twisted Iraiya's arm and shoved his knee into the crook of his back, but the sudden nearness sent a jolt to his stomach, and even worse, blood rushing downwards.

"Let go now," Iraiya demanded.

Sasuke released him quickly and took a step back to clear his head, but all he could think of was the sound of Iraiya's heaving breaths. The ability to control his body was getting alarmingly worse. Sasuke hadn't touched Iraiya since the bandit encounter months ago, months without sex when that had consumed his entire life for a whole year. He suddenly found himself needing a physical release a lot lately, which he often handled when it was his turn at watch but just imagining Iraiya pinned underneath him was not enough.

He often wondered if his year in the brothel had ruined him or if perhaps now that he no longer had his anger and drive to consume his attention, there was nothing left to distract him from his own natural urges.

"Are we done or-" Iraiya was suddenly forced to put up his forearms as Sasuke attacked with a frustrated flurry, tripped his opponent, and then kicked a rapt blow into Iraiya's stomach.

"Now we're finished," Sasuke sneered, hoping to redirect his frustration into anger and it worked a while. Sasuke turned agitated, and in the pause he listened to his surroundings and knew the others were all the way back at camp. After all, how much space was Sasuke required to give?

Iraiya was just picking himself up from the previous assault when Sasuke decided to fuck it and shoved a hand against Iraiya's shoulder. Unbalanced, Iraiya fell backwards for the third time.

"What the fuck?" Iraiya spat.

Sasuke managed to get Iraiya's shirt half over Iraiya's torso before Iraiya finally realized what was going on. Then it got difficult when Iraiya refused to comply and fought with Sasuke instead. Annoyed, Sasuke wrapped a firm hand around Iraiya's throat and was determined to get what he wanted. Iraiya bucked underneath him as Sasuke managed to pull down Iraiya's pants past his buttcheeks.

Then Iraiya stopped moving, which made Sasuke stop.

"Why don't you fucking want it?" Sasuke demanded angrily.

"Want to get fucking raped?!" Iraiya wheezed, reminding Sasuke where his hand was and Sasuke released it.

"Not if you want it," Sasuke said insistently.

"I don't!" Iraiya yelled heatedly, then rolled his hips and successfully bucked Sasuke off. Sasuke scrambled to his feet.

"Why not?" Sasuke demanded, bewildered.

" _Why not_?!" Iraiya asked breathlessly in disbelief. "You're a selfish self-possessed abusive son of a bitch."

"So," Sasuke spat. Those qualities obviously didn't stop girls from wanting him sexually before.

"If this is your way of trying to ask this time, my answer is no." Iraiya said as he scrambled from the ground but he didn't get very far when Sasuke, in a rage, shoved him back down. Iraiya blocked the first punch to the face, but the second was a chidori and both Iraiya's forearms were completely burned by the attack.

With Iraiya's arms out of commission, he didn't have the strength to block the next attack. Sasuke pulled Iraiya up by his shirt and slammed their mouths together in something that was supposed to resemble a kiss. He brought them together so hard, their teeth rattled off each other. When Sasuke finally released Iraiya, Sasuke received a splatter of spit on his cheek in response. "Psychotic asshole."

Iraiya choked on blood. Sasuke blinked in sudden clarity and realized he was holding a rock tight in his hand. A warm liquid slid down his arm. It was only when Sasuke dropped the rock that had slammed three times into Iraiya's face in a sudden flash of anger, did Sasuke wipe the spit from his cheek.

Iraiya's body had gone limp underneath him. Sasuke would have checked for a pulse but he heard Iraiya's struggling breaths. Then, Sasuke reached for the shirt and snatched it over Iraiya's head without any more resistance. As his hand anxiously explored the bruised skin, the words echoed in his head, _"_ _They want control over their own lives but sometimes, the most they can control is other people."_

Sasuke ripped off Iraiya's pants. He groaned when he reunited with the tight heat of Iraiya's ass. Fucking him was akin to dragging Iraiya into Sasuke's world of darkness, showing him was it was like to live every waking day in his constant nightmare. Sasuke tasted the saltiness of Iraiya's tears that had formed from the pain. He breathed in the scent of maple leaves. He reached forward and memorized the feel of Iraiya's dick.

"Stop," Iraiya said exasperated, his muscles tensing, making it increasingly harder for Sasuke to drive forward. He reached for the blood running down Iraiya's face and then spread it on the man's cock. Iraiya began to struggle again but Sasuke bore a chidori into the man's stomach to quiet him.

Sasuke pumped Iraiya, feeling his unwillingness harden and grow hot.

"No…" Iraiya released. Sasuke felt the tremor against his chest right before Iraiya came all over his hand.

"I knew you wanted it," Sasuke whispered in Iraiya's ear. Sasuke reveled in his own orgasm and plugged Iraiya's ass with his cum.

Then, Sasuke found it wasn't enough. He tightened his arms around the shaking body and focused on the contact of skin. It wasn't enough just to fuck, but he needed to hold, and smell, and taste, and feel.

* * *

When Sasuke finally returned to camp, it was to dead silence. He didn't care if what he had done was written all over Iraiya's bloodied face, ripped clothes and unbalanced limp. Sasuke sat down, like he did every other night to practice his breathing techniques. Iraiya limped over to the other side of the camp, the farthest corner away from Sasuke.

Jirui nor the Mist ninja said a word, but chose the habit of ignoring it. After all, when your superior wanted to have their way with a subordinate during downtime, you get used to looking the other way.

It was Kuvira who shot to her feet, clenched Sasuke by the shirt, and then hefted him straight through the air. Sasuke scrambled from the ground after hitting his back through a series of trees. "I am a missing-nin now and I no longer have to stay silent about these things."

Sasuke's head was thrown back when a pillar of earth erupted from the ground and pinned Sasuke between it and a tree. Sasuke scowled as Kuvira drew close. "You hurt him again and I'm leaving this gang and taking Iraiya with me."

"He wanted it," Sasuke claimed smugly, until the smugness was slapped off his face.

"You spoiled brat," Kuvira said, her sudden show of anger threatening to rival Sasuke's own. "People aren't entitled to tell you yes."

"It doesn't matter what the fuck people think. The strong are entitled to whatever they want," Sasuke argued. Sasuke spat, "I once was so strong, I could have killed you with a blink of the eye. I was so strong I could have shaped the world in my image. I could have controlled everything."

Kuvira nodded as if she had heard this spiel before, "To be strong… to be powerful… to be the one to shape and control the world… _just so the world can't hurt you anymore._ This nonsense talk of power and strength is only your avoidance of dealing with the real issues: You're scared."

"Just like those bandits we came across before, you feel as if you have to be in control of everything in order to conquer your fears when the only thing you really need to be in control of is the fear."

"You exert control over Iraiya because you refuse to face the truth: That the extent you treat him like shit is different from everyone else. That when you're scared, you cling to him the most. When you can't see, you trust him to guide you. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and realize that all of your nonsense is because you don't know how to emotionally deal with the fact that you care about Iraiya."

Sasuke scalded back at the absurd observation.

"I understand how scary that can be for someone opening themselves up again."

"You know nothing about me," Sasuke seethed.

"I know that something traumatic happened to you and not just the regular ninja stuff either," Kuvira answered as Sasuke felt the weight of her stare. "I did it once, when my son betrayed me and the village. I was so angry and so hurt I closed myself off and distanced myself from anyone that could have helped me. But you know what? Life goes on. One day, you raise your head and see two boys that remind you of your stupid sons that need your help."

Sasuke petulantly turned his away.

"It's okay to care about someone," Kuvira said gently, "and it's okay if that someone might not care about you back. It's okay if they say no. It'll hurt, but you know what? Life goes on."

Sasuke hung his head and hated her. He hated her for her wisdom and her empathy and her truths. Suddenly the ground shifted. Sasuke was released from the tree and his feet touched ground. Kuvira caught him in her arms and it was so easy for Sasuke to lean forward and rest his forehead on her bosom.

Tears were a weakness.

But he was tired of controlling everything. His body shook. And he let go of the tears.

"It pains me to see how this world has twisted and scarred our children," Kuvira whispered. "We don't give birth to monsters."

* * *

"What do you want?" Iraiya said bitterly when Sasuke couched down before him. Iraiya's words were slurred due to a busted lip. Sasuke listened to the tenseness that gathered in Iraiya's muscles and knew the man was on edge as if preparing for a fight.

Sasuke could feel Kuvira's eyes on his back, encouraging him to prove himself better than those bandits. Sasuke had never said these words in his entire life and figured he would die without ever having to. Finally, Sasuke realized what was the point of pride when he had just finished sobbing like a seven-year old child who had just witnessed his entire family massacred?

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said.

"Sorry for what?"

Sasuke frowned, annoyed that Iraiya was intentionally being difficult when he was trying to reconcile. "For everything," Sasuke said obviously.

Sasuke suddenly felt Iraiya's stare as keenly as one would feel killer intent, but it manifested as a physical wall between them built by their pasts. Iraiya said, "That's a lot to be sorry for, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke grumbled at the melodrama and demanded, "Do you forgive me?"

Iraiya combed a hand through his hair.

"No."

Then Iraiya walked away.

* * *

The rain was already making Sasuke miserable and they had yet to make it to Amegakure. On the other hand, the Mist ninja was skipping down the road. Sasuke dragged his feet through the muddy roads and could feel a collection of it weighing him down. Then Sasuke looked up at the sound of Iraiya's voice, who was making some inane joke to Jirui about the weather. Even though Iraiya generally avoided him since that day a couple of weeks ago, Sasuke did feel as if the apology had fixed something. Maybe something in him perhaps.

Sasuke scrunched his nose at the smell of a dead corpse. Sasuke almost ran into Iraiya if his cane hadn't stabbed into Iraiya's shin first. Annoyed, Sasuke asked, "What is it?"

"This entire mud pit is a graveyard," Iraiya whispered sickly. "It extends all the way to the gates."

Kuvira shook her head. Jirui sucked in his teeth. The Mist ninja continued to dance. Sasuke stepped forward without hesitation and continued toward his destination. Sasuke suddenly felt the warmth of a familiar hand and was pulled out the way of a giant crevice that randomly cut through the road. Then Iraiya's entire body slammed against Sasuke and pinned him to the ground at the sound of explosions.

"There's a fight up ahead," Kuvira reported. They pressed themselves against the giant crevice to avoid errant attacks.

Sasuke heard the explosions but was more worried about his racing heartbeat and the heat between his legs reacting to Iraiya's sudden closeness. He breathed easier when Iraiya lifted and they all mutually decided to wait until the fire power died down. It was a few hours into sunrise when the sound of explosions and jutsu ebbed. By that time, Sasuke was soaked from the torrential rain in the sky.

As they walked up to the gates, Sasuke felt eyes. He heard groans of the dying. He smelled the dank cluster of people. He heard the curses of crowds rushing to get both in and out the city before the next conflict broke out. Sasuke and his crew entered with the crowd and he found it surprisingly dry inside of the city gates. A coolness dripped down his face.

"I guess this is it," Jirui shrugged his shoulders.

The Mist ninja nodded.

Once, when this journey started, Sasuke had been certain he was going to kill everyone when they finally arrived to Rain Country. But this time Sasuke didn't burn his bridges.

"Later," Iraiya agreed as they parted ways and walked deeper and deeper into the metal maze of Amegakure.

"I think I'm going to keep moving on," Kuvira said at the gate. "I hear Kirigakure is one big resort now. I'd like to see that for myself. Take care of yourselves, this village certainly isn't going to."

"We will," Iraiya promised.

Sasuke accepted the hug that suddenly wrapped around his shoulders. It was warm and felt like his mother's cooking after coming in from the rain. Kuvira whispered in his Sasuke's ear, one last parting advice, "Sometimes, forgiveness takes years."

Kuvira pulled away, sending a chill to wash over Sasuke. He didn't know what came over him, but he suddenly stepped up to stop her and grabbed an arm around her wrist.

"I just…" Sasuke took a deep breath to formulate his words properly and explored what it was he wanted.

"If you ever need anything, or any help, let me know." Then he added, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke held an anxious breath, unsure what was about to happen. What if she rejected him too?

Then Kuvira nodded her head with a smile that he could envision perfectly. "Well met, Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

_**x** _

* * *

_**'Bandits', Sasuke was beginning to realize, was nothing more than a word used to label individuals looking for a way to survive outside the ninja system. Bandits were outcasts, missing-nins, and people displaced from their homes or ideologies or morals.** _

* * *

 


	4. The Blind Samurai

Sasuke's steps were unsure as he stumbled over the uneven pavement. The rain beat constant drums on what sounded like a canopy overhead, struck chimes on the metal piping, and trickled rivers in the street. It was a cacophony of sound that jolted him around as helpless as a genin against a Kage.

Sasuke tightened his grip around the sleeve of Iraiya's soaked shirt.

"We'll look for the blacksmith tomorrow. Let's first find an inn and get out of these wet clothes," Iraiya suggested.

"No," Sasuke responded annoyed, even though his pants clawed his legs uncomfortably and his cloak weighed down his shoulders like a pair of Might Gai's training weights. "We find the blacksmith now."

Iraiya sighed, partially in impatience and exasperation. "You have no idea what's going on in Ame, do you? We need to find someplace to stay before nightfall."

"What for?" Sasuke said. He began to tug on Iraiya's arm as if his persistence would point him in the right direction.

"No." Sasuke blinked at the sudden raindrops that splashed across his face when Iraiya shook his head. "There are currently three warlords fighting over Ame. The fighting has gotten so bad that the civilians don't come out of their homes after the sun sets. The blacksmith will already be locked in by the time we get there and… it's not safe for us either."

Sasuke sneered at the sound of Iraiya's fear but it was a reasonable argument. Sasuke relaxed his hold and allowed Iraiya to take the lead.

Amegakure was a cold village. The forecast was cloudy with always a chance of rain, which left the village as relentlessly cold during the day as it was at night. The air smelled of dirty rainwater tainted by the scent of coagulated blood.

Sasuke stepped onto wood and entered a building but the battering of rain followed them inside. The roof leaked and splattered puddles across rotten floorboards. After Iraiya bartered for a room, they headed upstairs.

Sasuke was jerked to the side. He flailed for anything to hold onto, grabbed the damp coarse strands of Iraiya's hair, and found himself bodily jerked against the railing.

"The stair is broken," Iraiya explained and pulled Sasuke's hand from his hair. Iraiya helped Sasuke the rest of the way up and led them to their inn room.

Sasuke's nose soured. The moment Sasuke stepped inside, he heard the squeak and scuttling feet of rats. Sasuke pressed his hand against the spring-broken mattress and rubbed at the dirt it left on his fingers. Sasuke turned to Iraiya with a resounding, "No."

"Out of all the things you've done to get this far, this is where you cross the line?" Iraiya asked in disbelief. "Look, in Ame if people know you have money you'll wake up the next morning with a slit throat. Deal with it."

Sasuke frowned. The window creaked on a broken hinge. Rain escaped inside and fed the mold gnawing at the floorboards. Sasuke grimaced when he sat on the bed and asked, "You've been here before?"

"I was stationed in Ame for an undercover mission before the war happened," Iraiya explained. Iraiya's wet clothes thudded to the ground and swept up a sudden cloud of dust. It caught in Sasuke's throat and he coughed violently on the horrid air, which suddenly flashed him back to the congested polluted air of the kunai factory.

Shivering in his wet clothes, Sasuke grumpily decided not to change. Sasuke tossed the pillow, which had become a home for cockroaches, and stuffed his traveling pack underneath his head instead. He listened to the brief screech of pipes in the bathroom.

Iraiya returned and admitted, "The water doesn't work."

Sasuke had never liked dirt. Growing up, the Uchiha always kept the compound spotless. It wasn't until he activated his sharingan did he understand his family's obsession with cleanliness. Now that he couldn't see, Sasuke didn't know which extremes was worse: The ability to perceive the grime in every disgusting detail or the ability to know that it was there, feel it, and let his imagination twist reality far worse.

Awkwardly, the other side of the bed leaned with Iraiya's weight. Sasuke's head jerked toward the window when he heard a sudden scream. The inn room shook as if an earthquake had unbalanced it, followed by distant explosions.

The sounds were so piercing they cut through Sasuke's every attempt to get some sleep. He listened for Iraiya and grew envious at how quick Iraiya managed to fall asleep. Sasuke shifted and stuffed his traveling pack over his ears but between the screams and the dirt, Sasuke could not find respite.

Angrily, Sasuke turned and shoved a knee into Iraiya's back, which jolted the man awake. "What?!"

"I can't sleep," Sasuke said accusingly. He completely blamed Iraiya for this problem. Sasuke determined that if he couldn't get some sleep, neither could Iraiya.

"So," Iraiya grumbled, turned back over, only to receive an even sharper strike between his ribs the second time. "What do you want?!" Iraiya snapped with a grumpiness that could rival Sasuke on his better days.

"How do you fall asleep so fast?" Sasuke asked, not necessarily because he wanted to know the answer, but he needed a distraction to help him forget about the background chorus of rodents and dying men outside the window.

Sasuke felt the hot breath of Iraiya's sigh when Iraiya turned to face him. "I didn't get used to it until the Fifth Shinobi War. The screams and the dirt and the rust of someone else's blood underneath my fingernails, that's easy for me. It's the quiet, all the empty spaces in between, that's hard. It's the silent moments when friends don't make it back and you stand in front of their family trying to figure anything to say because you know your condolences could never be enough to fill that hole that has been ripped inside of them. It's the frightening quiet after the war is won, when you look at the blood on your hands, and wonder how things could ever go back to normal. I can't sleep in the quiet."

It dawned on Sasuke that he understood.

It was like being jolted from sleep at the familiar sound of footsteps. You jump from your bed, search for your mother down the hallway, only to find a vicious assault of silence to remind you that everyone in the compound was dead. For years, Sasuke had to learn how to sleep with that quiet.

"Go to sleep," Sasuke grumbled as he turned over and left Iraiya alone.

* * *

Ame came alive in the early morning. Civilians shuffled off to work. The small patter of children's feet splashed across puddles. In the early morning, Ame almost seemed normal… but the constant rain never let you forget.

The morning was heavy with humidity but Sasuke preferred it to the dust of the inn room he swore never to return to. Sasuke attempted to memorize the endless twists and turns but relying on his own memory was far less reliable than the sharingan. He was surprised Iraiya managed to keep his pace steady and sure without ever having to retrace their steps. Sasuke wondered exactly how long Iraiya had spent in Ame.

Sasuke squeezed Iraiya's arm in warning at the slight sound of a kunai withdrawn from it's sheathe. Rain tapped on cloth. There were two in front of him whose footsteps splashed loudly in the puddles and did not bother to hide their presence. Sasuke noticed the slight movement of two more above him, creaking on the weight of the tarp and disturbing the rhythm of rain.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

"Whose side do you fight for?"

Sasuke corrected his head and locked a blank glare on the stranger's voice. Sasuke didn't bother with a response. He knew where their breaths heated the air.

Sasuke slammed his hands down into a puddle of water, foregoing the use of seals to take advantage of the element of surprise. His hands squeaked with the rampant chirp of lightning. The technique elicited stunned gasps from the ninja in front and had the added effect of blinding the ninja above. Sasuke calculated he only had a few seconds.

Sasuke rushed forward with a speed that swept raindrops from his skin. His hand gripped around the cool hilt of a kunai. He focused his hearing on the heartbeat, then thrust a kunai into the ninja's chest who had been reeling from the sudden electrocution.

A splash under Sasuke's heel – he kicked and snapped the neck of the second opponent. Sasuke landed in a crouch and whipped his head up when the rain stilled.

The ninja above had recovered and were descending with their own arsenal of jutsu. Sasuke sucked in a breath before his opponents could get the chance to complete their series of hand seals.

An inferno of fire erupted in the small alleyway. On contact with the rain, the surrounding area erupted in a blast of hot steam. Sasuke smirked at the leveled playing field and listened to his opponent fumble loudly, lost in the hot mist. He targeted their doubtful footsteps, plunged a kunai between the soft squish of a ribcage and then turned to the sound of a body drop with the weight of hail to the cobblestones.

Iraiya had killed the last ninja, grabbed Sasuke, and ran into the chilling constant rain of Amegakure. Sasuke stumbled forward and tripped over his own sudden laughter. He wrenched his hand free from Iraiya's confused grip, fell to his knees, and laughed.

The warmth of fresh kill tasted like freedom.

* * *

The door grated open annoyed.

"Who are you?"

"Narita-san? We need to commission a sword." Instantly, the door began to screech closed until it was interrupted by Iraiya's steady hand. Then Iraiya said in a low whisper, "All rivers converge on Rain Country."

Sasuke perked up his ears at the obvious code phrase and was surprised when the man, Narita, hesitated. Then with a disgruntled cough, opened the door and invited them inside. Sasuke stepped forward onto a metal platform and a wave of heat blasted across his face. The moment the door was closed behind them, Sasuke began to sweat. The smell of molten metal, the sound of huffing machinery, and the heavy air reminded Sasuke of a kunai factory.

"Who is the sword for?" Narita asked. By the weight of Narita's footsteps, Sasuke judged him to be a broad and well-muscled man. The smell of smoke and iron was drenched into his skin.

Sasuke crossed his arms and stepped forward. "I need both a katana and a kanto. The blade must also have the ability to conduct chakra-"

Sasuke's specifications were interrupted when his arm was suddenly wrenched backwards. Sasuke instinctively countered. He swung forward with a kunai but his wrist was jerked back and the kunai fell helpless from his grasp. Sasuke's right hand was lifted by calloused fingers and inspected. Sasuke frowned at both the mistreatment and disrespect.

"You're a killer," Narita said and dropped Sasuke's hands as if he had picked them up by mistake.

"Everyone is a killer," Sasuke answered with spite. "I need a sword."

"I didn't realize Mifune took on one last student before he died."

Sasuke stilled. Then he realized that this was the very man he had travelled all the way to Iron Country to find in the first place. "I heard you were dead."

"People hear a lot of things." Narita shrugged. "I will not make you a sword."

Anger flashed through Sasuke's chest. He had traveled too far and endured too much shit just to be told no. Sasuke folded his hand around a nearby poker iron, stepped forward, and threatened as if a forge burned in his throat, "You will make me a sword."

"Or what? Kill me?" The Blacksmith scoffed. "My death will not give you the sword you want."

Iraiya's hand landed on Sasuke's shoulder and attempted to push him back. "It's alright Sasuke. We will find another blacksmith."

Sasuke stabbed the butt-end of the poker iron back into Iraiya's stomach. Iraiya kneeled over and freed Sasuke from the annoying weight of his hand. Sasuke refused to leave until he got what he wanted. Sasuke attempted to find some kind of leverage he could take advantage of, "I'll burn this place to the ground."

"I'll build another," Narita said, and then completely turned away from Sasuke's smoldering expression. Sasuke's hand shook at his inability to force the man, a mere civilian, to his whims. It was the same indignant and scorned emotions that had choked him when Iraiya had refused him in the forest.

Sasuke sucked in a breath, threw down the poker iron and it rattled across the floor. He pushed Iraiya out of his path. Sasuke remembered the way out.

Sasuke stormed to the door, back into the enduring pound of rain, and walked. He kept walking until the rain drenched the heat from his chest and his footsteps slowed. This wasn't over, even if that meant Sasuke had to return every day to make that old man's life a bitter hell.

"What now?" Iraiya asked from behind, uncertain.

"Lunch," Sasuke said as if it should have been obvious.

"That's a dead-end," Iraiya grumbled.

Sasuke turned around. With a little guided help from Iraiya dragging behind Sasuke's footsteps, Sasuke followed the smell of market food until he found the long stretch of street vendors.

Sasuke studied the textured ridges of melon underneath his hand. He smelled the cartons of milk for their freshness. His hand glided over the asymmetrical shape of a pear. One stall was selling rice cakes. Another sold dumplings that distracted Sasuke's attention. Every fruit Sasuke bought and bit into contained the distinct taste of rainwater.

"You, the blind one."

Sasuke turned and finally confronted the men who had been following him and Iraiya since they arrived in the market. Sasuke had been biding his time, attempting to see what they would do. Iraiya placed three fingers against Sasuke's arm. The number wasn't enough to be intimidating but it was a chore nevertheless.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

"You killed some of Momochi's men. Our Boss would like to talk to you. There's good money in it."

Sasuke crossed his arms, deliberating. It would be smart of him to grasp the inner politics of Amegakure, especially now that he was having an extended stay. Additionally, he could use the money to further sway Narita's resolve.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. He walked towards the stalkers and ran into Iraiya's hand.

"Wait, we don't know anything about these guys," Iraiya warned.

Sasuke shrugged. After this morning he was a little more confident in his ability to handle anything if things went awry. Sasuke shoved away Iraiya's hand and followed the men toward the eastside of the village.

Sasuke's stomach churned at the tantalizing aroma that hit him when he entered the building. Sasuke recognized the smell. "Your main base of operations is an okonomiyaki restaurant?"

"Killing works up an appetite," the thugs explained and led Sasuke and Iraiya to back-end of the restaurant.

Sasuke grabbed Iraiya's sleeve to guide him down into the booth. Sasuke sat down on comfortable cashmere cushions.

Sasuke relaxed. Iraiya tensed. Sasuke inclined his head, focused his chakra, and couldn't get a solid read on how many ninja were in the crowded restaurant among the customers.

"Good evening."

Sasuke recognized the authority in the man's voice but also a sardonic sense of humor. Masked by the smell of the restaurant, Sasuke couldn't get a good scent on the man sitting directly in front of him. Sasuke dead-panned, "I'm surprise you've lived so long considering you invite strangers to dinner."

The man laughed. "I was conceived here in Rain Country. I was born on these streets. No one scares me in my own home."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"A man straight to business," the man chuckled. "My name is Jintaro. I admit, I've never met a blind man that can take out four ninja at a time. What do you say if I want to hire you to join my cause?"

"How much?"

Iraiya face-planted onto the table.

Sasuke listened to the sudden drop of coins. Sasuke reached out, felt their heft in his palm, and then tied the bag around his belt.

"Report to this location tomorrow." An address was slid in Iraiya's direction but Iraiya didn't make a motion to grab it. Sasuke rolled his eyes at Iraiya's dramatics and swiped the address into his pocket.

Sasuke stood. Having memorized the path when he came in, he effortlessly navigated around the table and toward the sizzling sounds of fried batter. He placed three pieces of coin on the counter and left through the front door with take-out for dinner.

"How much?!" Iraiya questioned in disbelief. "You don't even know what you just agreed to!"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. All that mattered was finding an inn devoid of rats, the smell of piss, and clinging dirt. He wanted a clean table where he could sit down and eat. Ignoring Iraiya protests, which were increasingly becoming annoying, Sasuke found an inn with hot water.

There were few pleasures in life and there was nothing like a good hot powerful shower. Sasuke audibly moaned and wondered if this was how it felt for a snake to shed old skin. After Sasuke finished, he turned the handle and the pipes in the walls whistled with the strain of water.

Sasuke dripped water on the floor as he entered the bedroom, sat down, broke apart wooden chopstick, and began to eagerly shoved food into his mouth.

"You can at least put on some fucking clothes," Iraiya grumbled.

"Hn." Sasuke didn't give a shit. It's not like he could see anything anyways. Sasuke's moody companion was really beginning to stale the air. "You've got your own bed now. What the fuck are you bitching over?"

Sasuke dropped his chopsticks when he finished eating. He landed in the bed and enjoyed clean cotton sheets hugging his bare skin.

"He's not a good guy, Sasuke," Iraiya whispered.

Sasuke couldn't care less. To Sasuke, good and bad was relative to what he wanted and how it would help him achieve his goals.

* * *

Sasuke woke in the early morning, got dressed, and snuck out before Iraiya could wake up.

Sasuke faced the lonely emptiness of Ame's streets. He sucked in a breath, stepped forward, and placed down the wooden cane he had acquired on his journey to Ame. Sasuke hated the fact that he has gotten used to his dependency on Iraiya, gotten used to his scent always hovering, and the memorized rhythm of Iraiya's breathing.

This was something Sasuke needed to prove to himself.

Sasuke began to navigate the maze that was Amegakure. He made several wrong turns along the way, had to backtrack a couple of times, but eventually he found the open metal door that breathed with a forge's fire. Sasuke beat his cane on the open door to get the blacksmith's attention and walked inside.

"It's you again," Narita soured. "I already told you no."

"And I am going to come every day until you change your mind," Sasuke answered obstinately.

Narita scoffed.

"I can be rather persistent," Sasuke warned.

Narita's response was to continue his work. Miffed by Narita's stubbornness, Sasuke decided to familiarize himself with the forge since he was going to be a frequent visitor. He brushed his hand over several tools and machines and was careful to avoid anything too hot. He stopped and lifted a sword displayed on the wall. He admired the craftsmanship of the blade but the hilt wasn't fitted for his hand. "I have money. I can pay you."

"No." Narita answered and shrugged past Sasuke as if he was an obstacle in his way.

Sasuke picked up a kunai and cut it across his palm. The cut was flawless. It was a quality far superior to those mass-produced in a factory.

"Why do you want a sword?" Narita asked Sasuke for the second time. Narita's knees creaked and his back popped. "The truth this time."

Sasuke thought the question was stupid but he was trying to get on the man's good side. Sasuke crossed his arms and stared into the darkness of his sight in an attempt to find the answer. Sasuke answered softly as if ashamed to say it any louder, "To survive… to protect myself… to keep from having to rely and depend on others. I'm tired of being so weak."

Narita chuckled at Sasuke's truths. "We are all weak. Only fools stupidly believe that a sword or kunai can make us strong."

"I am a master of the katana," Sasuke boasted.

"Perhaps Mifune taught you how to wield a sword like a samurai but he failed in teaching you how to be one." Narita's hammer struck a sharp note. "You will never know what it means to wield a sword until you learn what it means to sheathe one. Instead of destroying all the damn time go build something. Instead of ending a life, go create one. Instead of taking, learn to add something to this hard world."

"So what?" Sasuke asked confused. "What the fuck do I need to do to get my damn sword?"

"Live," Narita answered. The hard beat of a hammer against metal punctuated the sound of constant rain.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Sasuke and Iraiya walked to the address given to them by the warlord. Sasuke had grown used to Iraiya's pessimistic silence but keenly felt a sharp weight to it as they walked down the streets.

"Iraiya?!"

Iraiya's head jerked up. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Jirui's unmistakable voice.

"What are you doing here?" Iraiya asked of the cloud missing-nin that they had traveled the road with.

"I threw my lot in with Jintaro and his crew. It seemed the only way to survive this village," Jirui answered. "Glad to see you again, although I'm surprised to see you haven't ditched this asshat."

Sasuke didn't appreciate the unfounded name-calling. Iraiya sighed. "It's complicated."

Annoyed that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there, Sasuke stepped forward and clenched a tight hand around Iraiya's arm. Sasuke acknowledged the cloud nuisance with a nod and jerked Iraiya away.

"What the fuck, Sasuke?" Iraiya complained under his breath.

But before Sasuke could respond, a set of footsteps approached from behind. Sasuke determined that the newcomer was dangerous even though he didn't walk like a trained ninja. It was possible this man had been born in Ame and have never left its streets.

"Here's our job." Jintaro's lieutenant got straight to business. "Momochi has been creeping into our territory. A few members in his crew have been spotted in a bar close by. We're going to send a message."

"How many are we talking about?" Jirui asked.

"Eight." The lieutenant dropped the number as if it was insignificant. The lieutenant began walking away without indication to anyone that they should follow. "First we need to take out the four sentries. There are two standing in the front, one on the roof, and one in the back. They all need to be taken care of quietly."

"I'll take the two in the front," Sasuke volunteered and walked toward the bar before anyone could stop him. The one advantage of being blind was the fact that no one suspected you. He tapped the step of the bar with his cane.

"Turn back, beggar. This bar is only for-" Sasuke stabbed his cane into the man's throat. With his other hand, Sasuke quickly withdrew a kunai and stabbed into the second's neck before any hand seals could be formed.

"Good work." The lieutenant's compliment sounded more like an observation. Iraiya and Jirui joined them a few seconds later after taking care of the last two. "Now we are ready to plant the bombs. Plant one at each corner of the building."

"Wait a minute, we're not going to go in and take care of these guys?" Jirui asked expectantly.

"No, that's stupid. We are going to bomb the place and everyone inside," The lieutenant said.

Sasuke heard an edge to Jirui's voice. "There are thirteen civilians in there."

"Welcome to Ame." The lieutenant shrugged and then threatened, "You're either with us or dead."

Jirui stepped toward the lieutenant and made the unfortunate mistake of turning his back to the one person you really shouldn't.

Jirui grunted. Sasuke wrenched his cane away from the shattered spinal cord. Sasuke said over Jirui's dead body, "His pay is mine."

Sasuke held out his hand and the lieutenant placed the bomb into his palm. It weighed down Sasuke's arm unexpectedly.

"This isn't a paper bomb," Sasuke noticed and studied the sharp metal.

"Just got a shipment of them from the Boss' civilian friends. These bombs aren't triggered by chakra so if there are any sensors inside, they won't sense them."

Sasuke listened carefully as the lieutenant described in detail how to plant them. Sasuke recognized the craftsmanship and knew these interesting weapons had come from that civilian terrorist organization he encountered in Iron Country. Sasuke had to admit it was a rather ingenious contraption.

Sasuke got to work with the weight of Iraiya's forlorn expression on his back. Once he was finished, they withdrew down a block. The lieutenant pressed the button on a trigger and instantly, a large explosion echoed off the metal buildings, carrying the sound throughout Amegakure.

"Good work today. Here is the dead one's cut."

The weight of gold dropped into Sasuke's palm. With a smirk, Sasuke turned on his heels and walked away. The sound of the explosion still echoed.

"He was our friend," Iraiya claimed.

"I don't have any friends," Sasuke said annoyed and counted his gold.

* * *

"Coming?" Sasuke asked when he noticed Iraiya wasn't getting ready. They needed to leave and meet with the lieutenant for their next assignment with the warlord.

"No," Iraiya said after a pause.

"Are you still being a bitch about yesterday?" Sasuke sneered.

"There were civilians in that bar," Iraiya argued.

"Civilians die." Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm sure someone said the same thing when the Uchiha died," Iraiya snapped.

Sasuke's fist snapped across Iraiya's face. The dinner table cracked and splintered as Iraiya crashed into it. Sasuke reached down and jerked Iraiya up by the collar of his shirt. "You know nothing of my family."

"You know nothing of those people who died for your money," Iraiya accused, "And for what? So you can sleep at an inn with rose-scented sheets?"

Sasuke dropped Iraiya in the pile of broken wood, grabbed his cane leaning against the wall, and stormed out into the rain. He had already mapped out the area of the meeting place earlier that day. He didn't need Iraiya. He could do this by himself.

After a wrong turn (or two), Sasuke finally managed to find the meeting place with the lieutenant. The lieutenant had several other thugs that Sasuke did not recognize. Sasuke noted that most of the men had some capacity for chakra but not all of them had been professionally trained by a ninja village.

"It's just routine rounds today," The lieutenant said.

Sasuke placed his hands in the pocket of his jacket as he walked behind the gang of thugs, bored. At least it was easy money. They went house to house collecting protection money from the local businesses and rent from all of the citizens living on the eastside of Ame.

"I… don't have the money today." A man said quivering from the doorway of his house. "Please give me another day."

"That's not how it works," The lieutenant replied.

"No!" The man yelled as one of the thugs grabbed a hold of him and the rest stormed the house. They dragged out a woman that was probably the man's wife, a son, and a daughter.

"Please no!" the man screamed right before a kunai was shoved into his throat. The wife sobbed. The son attempted to race forward and fight back, but an annoyed kick snapped back his neck.

"Please have mercy," The wife wailed.

"Should have had the money." The thug warned before slicing a kunai across the wife's throat.

"Hey, can we have some fun with the girl before we kill her?"

"We're ahead of schedule. I guess we have time. But after you're done, pin her corpse to the door as a warning to the other families." The lieutenant stepped forward, brandished a weapon that sounded too big to be a kunai, and began to cut through what Sasuke knew to be the sound of flesh.

Sasuke had to admit that skinning someone alive for paying their rent a day late, murdering their entire family, and raping and hammering the dead corpse of their child outside of the door as a warning to others, was a little on the side Sasuke probably should not have chosen.

The girl's screams annoyed Sasuke as she yelled for her dead family. Sasuke found all of this pointless, as pointless as Konoha ordering a man to massacre his entire clan. Sasuke stepped forward before the thugs could drag the seven-year old girl back inside the house.

As casually as knocking on a door, Sasuke sent a raikiri straight through the lieutenant's back.

"What the fuck?!" The thugs exclaimed.

Sasuke swiveled toward the voice and finished a series of hand-seals, "Earth coffin jutsu."

The ground lifted and closed like a casket to snatch the four thugs into its jaws. It crushed their screams and swallowed them back into the ground, leaving only a crust of dirt wedged between the cobblestones. The only sound left was that of tears and rain.

"Stop sniveling," Sasuke commanded.

He heard the girl attempt to curb her tears but was failing at it.

"They're all gone. They're all dead," she sobbed. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Survive."

* * *

When Sasuke returned to the inn room, he found the room cleaned and the wreckage of the table thrown out onto the streets. The shower was going. Sasuke withdrew two cheap cups of ramen from the plastic bag he carried and with distaste began to boil water.

"No fine dining tonight?" Iraiya asked when he found Sasuke had returned. Water audibly dripped on the floor. Sasuke clicked his tongue in disapproval and wondered why Iraiya never used a towel to dry off.

Sasuke finished preparing dinner, sat down on the floor because they no longer had a table, and grimaced as he ate. It tasted like cardboard. Iraiya sat down beside him with his share and they ate in silence.

"We need to start rationing our funds," Sasuke said once he was finished.

"Wait, what? Did you not get paid tonight?" Iraiya asked.

Sasuke frowned. He reached forward and felt Iraiya's flinch when Sasuke's thumb glided over the swelling around Iraiya's eye. Finally, Sasuke admitted, "You were right."

* * *

"If you want to stay in Ame we've got no choice. You've pissed off Jintaro which means we need to keep a low profile and change how we look," Iraiya insisted.

Sasuke didn't mind the haircut, he needed one, but he was hard-pressed to dye the color of his hair.

"What does it even matter? You can't even see it. Come on, I have brown dye, blonde dye, and if you want to go more adventurous I can…"

"Do it," Sasuke barked, annoyed, "but don't tell me."

Sasuke cringed at the sharp smell of dye but leaned into the touch of Iraiya's fingers running through his hair. He closed his eyes to the thorough massage of his scalp. When Iraiya pulled his hands away, Sasuke inwardly wished for the touch to continue. Nevertheless, they waited the requisite number of minutes and then Sasuke went to the shower to rinse his hair.

When Sasuke emerged from the bathroom, Sasuke caught the sound of Iraiya's held laughter.

"Don't," Sasuke warned. He grabbed his cane, hunched his shoulders, and walked outside into the rain.

"That's a new look," Narita noted when Sasuke opened the door.

Sasuke trudged inside the forge and dropped down cross-legged on the floor. Sasuke closed his eyes, tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep and found himself haunted by the imagined screams of his clan members all through the night. He felt mentally and physically exhausted.

"Something the matter?" Narita asked. Sasuke had come in early this morning. Narita noticed Sasuke was a man of routine and rarely deviated.

Sasuke didn't answer and found himself nodding off to sleep. He woke abruptly when the sputtering of machinery groaned and suddenly died. The extinguished heat brought a burst of cold.

"Fuck, the fan died out," Narita cursed. "Now there's nothing to keep the fire going.

"I can help," Sasuke said nonchalantly.

"The fan keeps the fire at the right temperature that I need. Can you do that and maintain it?" The blacksmith asked doubtfully.

Sasuke scoffed. He was a fucking Uchiha.

Sasuke pulled himself up and stepped forward. He prepared a series of hand-seals. Sasuke took a deep breath, held it, and allowed his lungs to fan the flames that scorched up his throat. Narita jumped back at the sudden heat that erupted from Sasuke's lips.

"Perfect," Narita said gratefully, then leaned forward, and bathed the misshapen metal in Sasuke's blue flames.

After a stretch of several long minutes, Sasuke paused to catch his breath while Narita hammered the metal into shape. Then they began the process all over again until several hours later, they were finished.

"I'm impressed," Narita said. "Not even my forge can get that hot."

Sasuke swallowed a pain in his throat and wiped the sweat from his brow. To hold the jutsu for several hours had been taxing. But it was good practice.

Sasuke looked down at an item suddenly placed into his palm. "What is this?"

"One of the cogs you just helped me to create," Narita said.

Sasuke felt the smoothness of it in hands. At its touch, Sasuke suddenly knew what he wanted. "I want to make my own sword."

Narita paused, and then answered, "I'm sorry. I wish you could but when iron is heated it glows several colors: red, orange, yellow, and then white. The ideal color for forging is yellow-orange. If you can't see these colors…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the mere suggestion that there were things he couldn't do. Sasuke reasoned, "And if I had someone to help me see these colors?"

"Then, I suppose I could teach you. But I'll have to warn you, to acquire the ability to create a sword of your specifications takes years to master. I don't know if you have the patience for it."

Without a word, Sasuke left out the door. Half an hour later, Sasuke was dragging Iraiya through the threshold.

Over the past few weeks, Sasuke had been trying to sever his dependence on Iraiya and prove to himself that he could do anything. He also wanted to learn how to make his own sword so he didn't have to depend on anyone else in case that sword should break again. Sasuke sighed, but sometimes, there were simply things you couldn't do alone.

* * *

Sasuke was always adamant about sleeping in the bed next to the window. It was odd how easily Ame's brutality provided a grim lullaby that swept Ame's civilians to sleep. But it wasn't the compelling soundtrack that kept Sasuke by the window.

Every morning, Sasuke felt the warmth of sunrise breathe across his cheek. He opened his eyes to the morning and stretched the soreness from his back. He placed his feet on the metal floor that always shot cold up his spine. He dragged himself to the shower, reached for the handle, and it rumbled and screeched to life. It was a convenient alarm that saved Sasuke the trouble of waking up Iraiya himself.

Sasuke stripped from his pajamas and waited the ten minutes it took for the water to heat and claw steam into his face. When Sasuke finished his shower, Iraiya was slowly beginning to wake. Sasuke hit the coffee machine before it crankily sputtered to life. With a hot mug of ground coffee beans, Sasuke dropped down at the new kitchen table and listened to Iraiya get ready.

Sasuke enjoyed his coffee black. He was rather partial to the taste but enjoyed the savory smell of coffee beans more than their flavor.

"Ready," Iraiya always grumbled like a lethargic morning wind. Sasuke picked himself up and they left the inn room that had become worn-in and familiar like someone's home. Sasuke listened to civilians creep from their homes as he walked through the streets he had become so familiar with that he didn't even need Iraiya to avoid the potholes.

Narita was already up and working when Iraiya and Sasuke arrived at the forge.

"Morning," Iraiya greeted and always received two grumpy grunts in response.

Sasuke crouched and heated one of several forges that Narita maintained depending on the job. There was one job Sasuke and Iraiya had been working on for several days now. At first, Sasuke had been impatient and beat against the steel too hard in an attempt to speed up the process and when it was done, all of Sasuke's hard work had sundered in his hands.

Sasuke reached out, brushed his thumb across the peak of Iraiya's knuckles, and then took the hammer from Iraiya's hand. It was Iraiya's job to place the iron near the air blast and oversee the metal heated to the right temperature and color.

The coals were shifted as Iraiya pulled out the heated horseshoe with iron pliers and placed it atop the anvil. Sasuke raised his sleeves and then hammered against the iron with all the force he could muster. There was a certain note Sasuke was searching for – a perfect note that praised him for finding the right balance of force. He hammered until he forced the metal into the shape he envisioned in his head.

Sasuke paused to catch his breath as Iraiya inspected the metal.

"It's time to start the finishing," Iraiya determined. Iraiya lifted the hot metal and walked with it through the room to the punch press. Sasuke followed. They punched holes into the horseshoe for the nails and set it out to cool. Finally, Sasuke had successfully finished making his first horseshoe.

Sasuke and Iraiya dropped down to rest in the shop portion of Narita's business. Sasuke sat back and listened to the dance of rain just outside the window as Iraiya raced forward to attend a customer that had just come through the door.

When the day's work was finished, as always, Narita sat down and passed around three mugs of beer. "Nice work today boys. Here is your pay for the items that sold yesterday."

"I never asked for money," Sasuke said, suddenly surprised by the small pouch of silver that Narita pressed into his hand.

"Honest work, honest pay," Narita said as his heavy boots thudded against the table. "I admit, it's been nice to have someone to help do the little things around here."

"It's certainly better than our last job," Iraiya replied both sarcastically and sincerely. He gulped down an entire mug in one shot. Sasuke didn't know which job Iraiya was referring to – their brief stint as a thug or their career as whores. Still, Sasuke decided this work wasn't too bad. Iraiya filled his mug and said, "Hey, old man, yesterday you never finished telling us about how you became a samurai."

Narita chuckled, "That's right."

Often while finishing their day with a drink, Narita would reminisce and entertain them with stories from his past. And Narita was an engaging storyteller, with a voice that knew how to draw in an audience. It was like listening to old Uncle Shitake who had the craziest tales that you never quite knew were truth, fiction, or a combination between. Sasuke sometimes liked to think that Itachi thought the same, as Itachi had killed their uncle with a kunai to the stomach instead of one across the throat. That man could tell a story.

Sasuke took a drink.

"A samurai is a warrior caste. You are born a samurai," Narita reminded. "But after the ninja came to prominence this rule began to change out of necessity. Suddenly, to match the growing power of ninja, anyone in Iron Country could be conscripted into the samurai ranks. I began a pig farmer's son."

"If anyone can become one, what makes a samurai then?" Iraiya asked curiously.

"There are several schools of thought that have attempted to answer that very question. It was a difference of opinion that led me to leave Iron Country in the first place. But if you want the textbook answer: It is said that anyone can be a samurai if you live by the virtues. The Great Scholar Nitobe Inaz once claimed that the seven virtues of a samurai is righteousness, courage, benevolent, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty."

"It astounds me that you have several schools of thought in the first place," Iraiya lamented. "The ninja, on the other hand, are so… rigid. Ninja are so used to taking and following orders that most don't ask questions. It's as if the entire world is afraid if anyone questions the system."

"And when ninjas do question," Sasuke said darkly through the alcohol loosening his shoulders, "Entire clans are massacred for it."

"I heard that the Uchiha clan was massacred because they were trying to overthrow the Hokage. That's a lot more than questions. That's civil war," Iraiya noted.

"A _few_ powerful Uchiha were trying to overthrow the Hokage but did their wives and children have to die for that as well?!" Sasuke demanded, sucked in a shaking breath, and shoved his third mug of beer untouched away. He's had enough.

His words were thoughts that had plagued him for years but this was the first time he's ever openly debated or argued the politics of the night that changed his life.

"I don't know much about Konoha politics," Iraiya admitted. "But I agree there probably could have been a better way of handling it."

Sasuke scoffed at Iraiya's platitudes. Sasuke stood up, but Narita caught his wrist and forced him back down into the chair. Then Narita shoved the mug of beer back into Sasuke's hand. "Never talk of the dead without a drink."

Sasuke didn't know why he stayed but after a few more beers down his system, Sasuke found that it did make everything tolerable. Sasuke turned to Iraiya and suddenly felt the need to explain, "The Uchiha clan is one of the most patriarchal clans in Konoha aside from the Hyuuga. If my father and a few of the clan leaders were plotting a civil war, no one in the clan could have stopped them. My mother didn't have a choice. I didn't have a choice."

"Itachi had a choice," Iraiya observed.

Sasuke honestly couldn't refute that and it was as if the morning dawn broke across Sasuke's face. "Itachi made a choice for them just as my father made a choice for them. But my cousins, and my aunts, and my mother didn't choose their deaths."

The more Sasuke thought about it, the more Sasuke could finally see that he didn't know who was at fault anymore. Was it Konoha? Or the Hokage? Or his clansmen? Or Itachi?

"Sometimes to move on," Narita advised, "you've got to forgive."

"Never," Sasuke determined immediately. Whoever was at fault, his hatred was for a lifetime.

Iraiya scoffed. "How can you possibly ask for forgiveness when you can't give it yourself?"

Sasuke turned stubbornly and downed another beer. Sasuke didn't understand why he could so keenly feel all these questions weighing him down. Perhaps a ninja didn't ask questions because they were too painful to answer.

Sunset was almost upon them and Iraiya and Sasuke needed to make it home before it got dark. Sasuke found himself stumbling over his feet and was forced to lean on Iraiya's shoulder to guide them home.

Iraiya shifted Sasuke's weight against his chest as they entered the inn room. He attempted to hold up Sasuke while closing the door at the same time. Sasuke leaned his head into Iraiya's neck and groaned at the sudden closeness of Iraiya's body against his own. Sasuke clutched his hand through the texture of Iraiya hair and forced his lips forward.

Iraiya stumbled backwards and Sasuke used this unbalance to shove him back into the bed. Sasuke breathed heatedly as he glided his hand over Iraiya's skin. Iraiya avoided Sasuke's next kiss and instead shoved Sasuke's face down into the sheets. Sasuke turned and immediately began sucking the taste from Iraiya's neck.

"Sasuke, you're drunk," Iraiya muttered, a little tipsy himself, but suddenly moaned at the feel of Sasuke's teeth gliding across his neckbone.

It certainly wasn't the first time one or both of them had stumbled back home drunk off their ass. It certainly wasn't the first time Sasuke had initiated a groping session between the two.

Sasuke consumed the heat of Iraiya's mouth and his hands explored the details of Iraiya's body. He clutched a hand around Iraiya's ass, thrust the man forward into his groin, and both men groaned into each other's mouth.

Iraiya reached up and his hands touched Sasuke's tear-soaked face.

"Sasuke?" Iraiya breathed between their tongues.

"He didn't give me a fucking choice," Sasuke snapped up and clawed nails painfully into Iraiya's skin. "I didn't tell Itachi to fucking spare me. I didn't get a fucking choice." Sasuke pushed Iraiya away and collapsed against the bed, his chest heated and angry.

"It was cruel what he did to me," Sasuke muttered angrily. "To take everyone away and then make the person I loved the most into the villain. It was cruel." Sasuke constantly found himself oscillating between love and hate whenever he thought about Itachi. Sasuke wished that he had one last moment, one last chance as he had during the Fourth Shinobi war to talk with Itachi and to tell him, that no, he had never truly forgiven him.

Never forgiven his Father.

Never forgiven Konoha.

Never forgiven himself.

* * *

In the forge, Sasuke could easily lose the hours, the days, and eventually the months. Sasuke brushed his hand against his first forged sword. There were a few imperfections but Sasuke felt an odd sense of accomplishment.

The chimes at the front of the shop jingled as the front door was swept open. Sasuke ignored the visitor as Narita lumbered to the front to greet him.

Sasuke studied the blade he had made. Every day got him closer and closer to his goal. As long as he was making progress he was okay with how long it would take to master the skill. He began cleaning up his work station and memorizing the place where he had put different items. He couldn't wait to show Iraiya after he returned from a delivery mission for Narita. Sasuke already had the perfect smug smile picked out.

Sasuke swiveled his head at the sudden sound of a heated argument from the front. Narita's voice was as stubborn as ever but the other had him concerned. Sasuke picked himself up to inspect what was going on.

"They won't be ready in another three days," Narita said agitated as if he had repeated this line a hundred times before.

"That's not going to be enough. Jintaro wants them now. His men are going to stand outside this forge until they are. You are not allowed to leave and we will turn away all customers until those orders are finished."

Sasuke placed a hand on the first sharp item he could find, which was a handful of iron-wrought nails. Narita replied, "I knew Jintaro since he was a babe at his mother's tit. He would never dare my ire unless he was losing this war."

"Shut up old man," the thug stepped up angrily. "Or I'll-" before the thug could walk another step further, Sasuke released the nail from his hand and hit the intruder's throat as if it was target practice.

Narita's calm demeanor broke when he turned on Sasuke, disappointed. "This could have been resolved peacefully."

"I helped you." Sasuke didn't understand why Narita was so ungrateful. It's not as if he helped people often. Sasuke walked forward, grabbed the corpse by the shirt, and tossed it out the window onto the street where all the other corpses in Ame were abandoned.

* * *

Sasuke's eye twitched. He tapped his foot impatiently as the temperature in Ame diminished and explosions could be heard in the distance.

"Iraiya's not back yet?" Narita asked with a streak of worry in his voice.

Sasuke didn't want to linger on his brashness earlier that day. He hadn't thought of the consequences.

"I'm going to go out and find him."

Narita placed a hand on his shoulder. "The fighting has gotten worse the past couple of days. You're just going to get caught in the crossfires."

Sasuke shrugged off Narita's hand and walked into the dark streets of Ame. He instantly channeled chakra to his eardrums and walked aimless, searching, while avoiding the battles between the three different factions in Ame. He skidded to a stop when his chakra-enhanced nose caught the scent of maple leaves.

Sasuke broke out into a run toward the scent, not bothering to wonder why Iraiya's absence had become so disconcerting. Sasuke sped up when he caught the sound of a punch squelched by soaked clothing, followed by a ragged whimper. Sasuke slammed forward blindly. He knocked his shoulder and scratched his knee on the wet stones. His thumbs dove into the man's eyes and felt the slick eyeballs burst around his grip.

Then Sasuke tumbled head over at the pummel of a water jutsu that suddenly slammed into his back. He snapped up. Rain splattered from his soaked hair. He listened to the rain strike the metal buildings, tap the cobbles, and press softly on the cloth that gave away the three attackers position. One was still on the ground whining about his fucking eyes.

"Hey, isn't that the blind guy that took out a whole band?" The men stumbled back and then sprinted away with fear on their heels. Sasuke made to follow, then stopped at the sound of Iraiya's labored breaths. Sasuke tightened his fist around the blood on his hands.

Sasuke turned toward the man shouting at him, "Who the fuck claws out a person's eyes?!"

Sasuke crouched down, narrowed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Sasuke loved to kill people with fire. It was such a slow and painful death.

Without hesitation, Sasuke hefted Iraiya onto his back and carried Iraiya out of that alleyway where the screams of Jintaro's thug were still burning.

* * *

Iraiya coughed up blood when Sasuke laid him down on Narita's kitchen table.

"Do you know any medical ninjutsu?" Sasuke automatically asked Narita and then realized that of course, Narita didn't know any.

"Get some hot water," Sasuke immediately instructed and began tearing away Iraiya's clothes to find the wounds. Sasuke reached out his hand as Narita's approached and began to drag the hot rag across Iraiya's skin. Sasuke had made it just in time. An hour or more and they would have killed him.

After Sasuke patched Iraiya up, the best he could, Sasuke transferred Iraiya to Narita's offered bedroom. Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed as if his vigilance could help Iraiya heal faster. But eventually his exhaustion ambushed him and minutes later, Sasuke had collapsed asleep on the bed.

Sasuke snapped awake when Narita came up the stairs. "How is he?" Narita asked as he creaked open a dresser. The metal hangers rattled.

"Alive," Sasuke answered as he picked himself up and snatched his hand from around Iraiya's waist. Sasuke could feel Narita's eyes on him, studying him.

"Not my business but… how come you two aren't together? Life's too short."

It was the very first time Narita had ever inquired about the nature of Sasuke's and Iraiya's relationship since they had showed up on his doorstep almost four months ago.

"Complicated," Sasuke said simply, and then almost exasperated. "He won't forgive me."

"You deserve it?" Narita inquired.

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked in the other direction with a pout, "Probably."

"Just some advice, but, some people you've got give up on so that you can move on. And others, you have to decide if they're worth it. I don't think Iraiya's a lost cause. After all, he hasn't put up with you for this long for nothing. Keep trying, kid."

Sasuke had never had much patience when other people inquired into his personal business but Narita's words did highlight one important question Sasuke has never asked: Why does Iraiya stay?

"We've crossed Jintaro before. His men recognized me. They're coming back." Sasuke knew he had to leave before Jintaro's men could regroup. "I need to meet them on my terms and to my advantage."

"There are other options," Narita insisted. "Jintaro isn't going to kill me. He can't. I'm the only person who can forge what he wants. But you and Iraiya can leave Ame."

"I am not leaving without my sword," Sasuke said, his mind settled. That was one demand he refused to compromise.

The woodened floorboards creaked underneath Narita's shambling weight. A metal lock clicked into place. Rough fingers grabbed Sasuke's wrist and guided Sasuke's hand forward. Sasuke's breath hitched when his hand wrapped around a hilt. It was a perfect fit.

"The name of the sword is Zatoichi. It was named after an infamous blind samurai who lived thousands of years ago. You have your sword. Now go."

Sasuke glided his fingers over the master craftsmanship. It was a blade that rivaled even that of Kusanagi. "I wanted to forge my own sword," Sasuke said after a few moments of stunned silence.

"And one day you will, but as I've said before, that path will take years," Narita explained. "I've already taught you the basics. You'll eventually figure out the rest on your own."

Sasuke stood to his feet, buckled the sword to his waist, and began packing items for travel. There were a few things he still needed to retrieve from their inn room before he completely left Ame behind. He stopped and looked down at the sound of Iraiya's breathing. And then Sasuke whispered, "I don't know where to go."

"Go home," Narita said, obviously.

Sasuke scowled and cut his teeth as straight as the line on a missing-nin's hitai-ite. "I'm never going back. It was Konoha who betrayed _me_."

"You've been trudging around your past the moment you entered my doorstep. Stop running. You'll never find peace until you do."

Sasuke inclined his head toward his shaking hands. He was afraid. He left so many ghosts behind in Konoha.

Sasuke jerked up his head at the sudden sound of an explosion. He caught himself on the hard edge of the wooden table and stumbled on the shaking floor.

Narita cursed. "It's Jintaro's men. They're already here."

"And when there are no other options?" Sasuke asked.

"We unsheathe our swords."

A smirk found Sasuke's face. He raced forward, kicked open the closed shutters of the window, and jumped. He landed with a lightning jutsu that blinded and stunned everyone in his immediate vicinity. He heard the enemies gasp and their hesitant feet as they stumbled through puddles, giving away their position.

Sasuke unsheathed his sword and the metal gliding out of the sheathe like a lover's song. One of the men choked on the metal blade. Another never saw it coming. Sasuke's heart beat with the familiarity of the kill and the ease his blade tore through flesh.

Sasuke whipped his head around at the sound of damp hands slapping together to form a seal. Without hesitation, Sasuke changed his grip and used one of the samurai techniques he had learned in Iron Country. A sharp thin slice of chakra swept from the katana, slicing through the air, and finally through the ninja's wrists. The severed hands fell to the ground. The ninja screamed in horror until Sasuke silenced him.

The door of the forge slammed open. Narita barged outside and then stopped. Everyone was already dead before he could even join the battle. "What do you know, your arrogance is well deserved."

Sasuke sheathed his sword and listened to the rain land a soft pitter patter on the corpses, chime on the metal buildings, and trickle rivers through the streets in a haunting song.

"It's not over yet."

Narita pressed a heavy hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "No, this can still end peacefully. We will finish the order. Give Jintaro his swords and call a truce. If he doesn't get his way, more than a few innocent people will die."

Sasuke scowled. "Or we can just kill him and take care of the problem."

"We finish the order," Narita said with finality.

"Samurai," Sasuke grumbled. It wasn't the first time he's been pitted against a samurai's sense of honor and duty. It took every ounce of willpower to force him to turn on his heels and head down toward the forge.

With Narita, they worked on the order of swords all night long and finished right before early dawn. Sasuke trudged up the stairs to check on Iraiya. Seconds found Sasuke asleep and cocooned in the softness of the pillows.

Sasuke woke with a start. Sasuke dropped the alarm clock he had grabbed to use as a projectile when he realized what the sound was that had abruptly woke him from his sleep. It was the distant sound of a knock. Sasuke trudged forward and wondered why Narita didn't get the damn door.

Sasuke stopped on the last step of the stairs and realized he didn't hear any other movement in the house. He raced toward the front and the swords they had bundled together ready for delivery atop the shop counter were gone.

Sasuke grabbed a kunai and hid it behind his back as he opened the door. Sasuke lifted the kunai to the startled shout of the tailor who lived next door.

"Where is Narita?" Sasuke demanded.

The civilian cowered at the harshness in Sasuke's voice. "Narita-san… he's… he's dead."

"What?" Sasuke snapped. He grabbed the tailor by the shirt and suddenly realized his anger did nothing but cause the man's words to come out as indecipherable whimpers. Sasuke took a deep breath and let the man go. "What happened to Narita?"

"Narita left this morning and met with Jintaro and his men in the market for some kind of exchange. But when Jintaro also demanded that Narita give you boys up… he refused. I came to warn you two. You need to get out of Ame."

Sasuke closed the door in the man's face.

Sasuke stood still for several seconds until the fact that Narita was dead melded into his senses. Sasuke had his sword. His use for Narita had ended. Sasuke didn't needed him anymore. And yet, a knot of pain grew in Sasuke's throat.

Then Sasuke screamed outright at the burning pain that erupted behind his eyes. The chakra coils in his head tightened and flexed as if trying to route a sudden surge of power but unable to find a release. The pain left Sasuke shuddering on the floor. And when Sasuke opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness. Nothing had changed.

Sasuke picked himself up. He used the hilt of the sword as a cane to guide him and walked into the cold rain of Amegakure.

He was done with the peaceful path.

By memory, Sasuke easily navigated the streets toward the okinomiyaki restaurant on the eastside of Ame. When Sasuke drew close, he heard the sentries sit up from their posts. That slight surprised sound gave them away, enough for Sasuke to locate and target the gulps in their throats with a thrown kunai.

He approached the restaurant which was still busy with voices even in the middle of the night. Sasuke walked through the door with a jutsu prepared. Chairs toppled over, hands slapped together to prepare hand-signs, and kunai were snatched from their holsters. But Sasuke's attack was first.

"Dust release: Detachment of the Primitive World Jutsu."

A pressurized sphere formed in the palm of Sasuke's hands. The particles expanded to encompass the entire restaurant. Then an explosion pulverized everything trapped within the three-dimensional blast radius.

The restaurant and all its inhabitants were nothing but dust except for the doorstep that Sasuke stood on.

Suddenly, a wild laughter erupted above him. Sasuke heightened his senses with chakra and determined the survivor used a water jutsu to get above the attack.

Jintaro's leather boots splashed into the heavy density of mud when he landed. The warlord's laughter continued, wild, the sort of knowing laughter that had just escaped the jaws of death. "Who the fuck are you? I haven't seen an S-class technique on that level since Nagato."

Sasuke unsheathed his sword and answered with a smugness, "I am Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha?" Jintaro asked as if trying to remember why that name sounded so familiar. "Eh, I don't know."

Sasuke's frowned. He hated this guy. There was once a day when the very name Uchiha paralyzed men in fear. Now, the name had been forgotten like ninja past their prime.

Sasuke sensed a shift in the air and the sound of rain stilled. Sasuke dodged to evade the water dragon that barely missed the top of his head. Sasuke countered with an inferno of flames that showered the entire area with a cloud of steam.

Sasuke dropped back and deflected a kunai with his katana. He turned with hands lit with electricity at the sound of a footfall, only to find his punch fly through the shocking cold of a water clone.

Sasuke winced at the sudden overwhelming smell of shit and realized his opponent had taken control of the sewer water. Easily able to follow the attack, Sasuke evaded, finished a series of hands seal and slapped them down onto the wet pavement. "Rise of the Heavenly Tower Jutsu."

The surrounding area began to quake and rumble, until a pillar of earth jolted everything within its radius toward the sky. Sasuke could smell the sewer water fall. Drops of rain slammed into his face at their rising speed. Clouds brushed past his cheeks until the warmth of sun touched hot on his face.

Jintaro stumbled to his feet, and his breath hitched.

Sasuke stabbed his katana through flesh and caught on bone.

"Hey," Jintaro chuckled and laughed on the blood choking his throat. "So that's what the sun looks like. Beautiful, isn't it?"

Jintaro's dead corpse sagged back and dropped as Sasuke wrenched his sword free. For a moment, Sasuke turned to face the great warmth against his skin. The sun was as hot as the midday summer sun over Konoha.

Then, Sasuke collapsed to his knees exhausted, knowing he hadn't engaged in such a chakra-heavy battle in years. His jutsu crumbled underneath him and he began to fall out from the sky. His chakra instinctively flared with fire. It jetted from his hands and padded his fall until his feet touched softly onto the familiar slick cobblestones.

Sasuke's shoulders heaved. The heat from Sasuke's fire jutsu had been so hot and thick that the rain evaporated before it reached the ground. For a few minutes, the rain had stopped in Ame.

Then, Sasuke lifted his head at the sound of fists placed onto the ground. Jintaro was dead and someone had to take his place. The resounding chorus chanted, never-ending:

"Warlord!" "Warlord!" "Warlord!"

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**Sasuke wished that he had one last moment, one last chance as he had during the Fourth Shinobi war to talk with Itachi and to tell him, that no, he had never truly forgiven him.** _

* * *

 


	5. The Blind Warlord

The generator rotated with the sound of a carnivore grinding bones between its teeth. The raw electricity sparked through the power coils. In Konoha, Hanzo the Salamander was remembered for his poison. In Ame, he was remembered for his engineering genius. Hanzo had not only created the mask that he wore but also among his greatest achievements he had built the Four-face Tower that acted as a protective lightning rod and Ame's hydroelectric dam – the only thing standing between Amegakure and the lake.

And now the latter belonged to Sasuke.

Control of the dam had been the real source of Jintaro's power. He charged people for electricity and then with that money bought their homes so he could charge them even more. But the real danger came with the fact that if Jintaro ever had the whim, he could turn off the power plant. Then the water levels of the lake would rise and rise until Amegakure was no more.

To have that amount of destructive power… Sasuke smiled as he listened to the electric snaps outside the window. His own lightning-attuned chakra reacted in such close proximity and tingled in excitement over his skin.

Sasuke savored the taste of grounded coffee beans and settled over the smell of it as the mug grew cold in his hands.

"They're not going to find us," Iraiya murmured, often nonsensical phrases that Sasuke did not understand. Iraiya had broken out of his fever last night but the nightmares still plagued him. In this, Sasuke felt powerless. He could only sit and watch as Iraiya recovered.

"Retreat!" Iraiya shouted as he snapped up in bed, jolted at the sudden whip of electricity from outside and snapped his hands into a hand seal that once completed, did nothing.

"Iraiya," Sasuke said sharply, and then with a steady voice continued, "You are no longer on that battlefield."

Sasuke heard Iraiya's drawn breath crack inside his throat. Sasuke sipped the seconds while Iraiya's breathing unwound. Iraiya asked softly with a tread of paranoia and fear, "Where am I?"

"Ame's dam," Sasuke answered.

"But that would mean…" Iraiya limped out of bed. His arm brushed past Sasuke's knee when Iraiya leaned to look outside.

"I killed Jintaro," Sasuke confirmed.

"You can't really be a warlord?" Iraiya asked as if Sasuke somehow contained a sense of humor.

"Why not?" Sasuke shrugged. It's not as if he had anything better to do. "Becoming a warlord was the only reason you got the medical attention you needed. And I get authentic coffee imported all the way from Rock Country."

"Are you fucking serious?" Iraiya snapped, then cringed and held a grip onto Sasuke's knee as not to fall over from his wound. "This isn't a game, Sasuke. Where's Narita? Maybe he can talk some sense into you."

"Narita is dead," Sasuke said flatly.

Iraiya's voice stumbled. "Did you kill him?"

Sasuke scowled, shifted his knee, and let Iraiya fall to the ground. "Jintaro's men killed Narita. Why would _I_ kill him?"

"I don't know Sasuke maybe because you have a track record of killing everyone around you. Remember Jirui?"

"He was irksome."

"You can't kill people because of that."

"Hn," Sasuke replied as if to ask, 'Oh, really?'

Iraiya picked himself up, collapsed weakly onto the bed, and grumbled into the bed sheets. "What now?"

"What do you know of the other warlords?" Sasuke inquired. He had already asked this question of the men that had sworn him their loyalty, but he wanted Iraiya's opinion.

"Himayo is a cockroach. He's sneaky, wily, and has lived far too long. Sandayuu Momochi, the brother of Zabuza Momochi, is an old war veteran and really made a name for himself during the Fifth Shinobi War. Maybe he tells the Mist ninja under his command that he's fighting to regain a home for them but Sandayuu himself fights because… he loves it. War is a game to him and he enjoys playing it."

"I'm going to kill both of them," Sasuke said. "Then I'll name myself Kage of Ame and return to Konoha with an army behind me. Narita was right. I need to get the past off my shoulders. I won't be free until I've seen the smoldering ruin of Konoha."

"Sometimes I wonder how your brain manages to twist everything it hears," Iraiya lamented. "Sasuke, that's insane."

"When I am the most powerful man in the world no one can hurt us." Sasuke insisted, "You won't have to live in fear anymore, Iraiya."

"I want nothing to do with your ambitions, Sasuke."

Sasuke frowned, frustrated. Couldn't Iraiya see that Sasuke was willing to give him the world? Isn't the world worth a small measure of forgiveness and acceptance?

"Then fucking leave," Sasuke snapped. "Let's see how long you last without me to protect you."

Iraiya's voice suddenly hardened into one Sasuke no longer recognized. "You certainly never stop disappointing me."

Sasuke jolted at the creak of the bed.

Iraiya limped to the door. The handle squeaked when Iraiya turned it to open, got the door open a creek, and it slammed back with a resounding echo.

Sasuke tightened a fist atop the cool metal texture of the door. "I changed my mind. You can't leave."

"Or what?" Iraiya whispered softly, challenging.

"You don't walk away from me alive," Sasuke's voice slipped into that hard edge. Sasuke stepped forward until he had Iraiya trapped between his chest and the door. The sudden edge abruptly cracked into the soft liquid of heated metal, and he begged, "Don't make me kill you."

"I can't make you do anything."

Sasuke hated the way Iraiya flung those words, as if accusing. He hated the way Iraiya had so casually and so easily decided to abandon him when Sasuke… couldn't.

Angrily, Sasuke shot his hand forward and Iraiya's forehead ricocheted off the metal door. Sasuke caught Iraiya before he fell, then turned him around, and slammed Iraiya's back to painfully collide with the doorknob.

Sasuke lifted his hand. Iraiya flinched to brace against the blow and grimaced when Sasuke instead fisted his fingers through Iraiya's hair.

By the hair, Sasuke jerked Iraiya forward into his lips. Iraiya resisted Sasuke's continued assault, as if brute force of will could make Iraiya yield. Sasuke thrust his hips forward and slammed the tail-end bone of Iraiya's spine into the doorknob.

Iraiya gasped in pain and Sasuke dove into his mouth.

Iraiya bit down on Sasuke's tongue.

Sasuke stabbed Iraiya in the throat.

While Iraiya caught his breath, Sasuke swiftly crouched to shove down Iraiya's pants from his hips.

"Stop fighting me," Sasuke demanded angrily as he dug his nails into Iraiya's bucking hips.

"Then you stop," Iraiya demanded.

"Let me show you."

"Show me what?!"

Sasuke's mouth descended onto Iraiya's cock.

A strangled cry of surprise left Iraiya's lips. Sasuke could feel the tremors vibrate helplessly through Iraiya's stomach. Sasuke had never cared for the taste of dick in his mouth, but just this once, Sasuke sucked with an insatiable hunger to know Iraiya's taste.

Iraiya finally succumbed and began thrusting his hips of their own accord. Sasuke's own erection began to push against his stomach at the sound of Iraiya's quickening breaths. Iraiya's head hit back against the metal door and punctuated the agonized breath that leapt from Iraiya's throat at his orgasm. Sasuke lapped the taste in his mouth, memorizing it as a sharingan would a moment, and swallowed without hesitation.

Then Sasuke stood and urged Iraiya back to the bed with a tug of his hand. He frowned when Iraiya's resisted.

"Sasuke, a blowjob isn't going to keep me from leaving."

Sasuke jerked back in angry confusion. And then as if it was the solution, Sasuke crossed his arms and stated, "I'll bottom."

" _No_ ," Iraiya stressed.

Sasuke was at his wit's end. Force hadn't worked. Sex hadn't worked. "What will?" Sasuke snapped, his chest heaving. "Stay. With. Me. Don't leave me like Itachi did."

At those words Sasuke himself jolted back, finally giving Iraiya space to breathe. Why did Itachi still haunt him?

Sasuke felt as helpless as the night Itachi branded him with a life of vengeance. Sasuke felt as naked as the first time he stood in front of Orochimaru and the Snake's eyes slithered over every angle of his body. Sasuke felt as dumbfounded as the moment he realized he had lost the sharingan.

He stood there, vulnerable, confused, without any idea of how to keep what he needed from slipping through his fingers.

Sasuke raised his head when Iraiya stepped forward.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" Iraiya whispered, tentative and careful, but listening. Sasuke leaned forward and this time Iraiya accepted the heat that Sasuke's mouth offered. Sasuke hungrily devoured the willing kiss.

And Sasuke didn't care about Konoha. He didn't care about the sharingan. He didn't care about power or revenge.

They parted, with a shuddering breath from Sasuke that left his throat and stomach in knots. Sasuke's only reply was an insistent tug on Iraiya's hip, asking as much as demanding for his touch, his intimacy, and his company.

Iraiya followed Sasuke to bed.

The edge of the bed pushed gently against the back of Sasuke's knee. Sasuke was surprised when Iraiya cupped Sasuke by the hip before literally shoving him back into the creak of the bed springs. Sasuke hissed when Iraiya prowled on top of him, pinning him down with a knee atop Sasuke's chest. Sasuke craned his head up at the feel of Iraiya's hair dripping forward onto his face and the approach of Iraiya's measured breaths.

"There's no going back," Iraiya said to himself as he pressed his fingers against Sasuke's cheek, of which Sasuke leaned into. Sasuke frowned at the doubts in Iraiya's voice.

Sasuke quickly latched a hand to the back of Iraiya's neck. Honesty had worked to keep Iraiya from leaving. Sasuke tried it one more time. "I need you."

And it worked.

Iraiya stopped resisting the pull of Sasuke's hand and glided down into another kiss, one that was soft and slow and savoring. Between their explorations of each other's mouths, Iraiya's thumb settle into the inset of Sasuke's hip, and dragged down until he was under the waistband of Sasuke's pants. Sasuke's lifted his hips and his throbbing cock was suddenly exposed to the fresh air.

Sasuke seethed when a suction of air swept across his body. Iraiya had pulled away. Sasuke leaned up to hear Iraiya madly searching through drawers. Sasuke's sudden anger defused when Iraiya's suddenly slick hands enclosed around his dick. Sasuke thrust forward into the massage of lubricant.

Sasuke reached for anything he could touch. He sucked onto skin, then flicked his tongue over what he realized were the veins of Iraiya's neck. Sasuke accidently bit down onto flesh the faster and faster Iraiya continued to jerk him off.

Then Iraiya pressed a knee between Sasuke's legs and Iraiya's slick fingers tread into Sasuke's ass. Sasuke tensed the moment of the intrusion, leaving Iraiya to quickly snatch his hand away.

"I thought-" Iraiya mumbled, "I thought you were going to bottom."

Yeah, Sasuke had said that, but that was before he had convinced Iraiya to stay.

"Sex doesn't have to hurt," Iraiya said in the space between them. "It doesn't have to be about power or control. Let me show you."

Sasuke sat up, the heat and lust dying between them, and said, "No."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them that was only distracted by both of their unsatisfied cocks. Sasuke turned away and frowned at this feeling of shame.

"Alright," Iraiya finally said. The bed creaked before Sasuke felt Iraiya pepper kisses along his neck. Iraiya finally managed to lift Sasuke from his brooding thoughts when heat and moisture enveloped his cock. Sasuke combed his fingers through the rough strands of Iraiya's hair and followed the bob of Iraiya's head. Sasuke leaned further back, clutching a tighter hand into those rough strands as if holding on to a hawk summon when it suddenly whooshed through the air. Sasuke sucked in a breath as Iraiya bobbed faster. His body tensed, like some stupid genin the moment before releasing an errant fire jutsu he couldn't control.

Sasuke yanked up Iraiya by the hair, forcibly removing Iraiya from his cock and surrendered with two words, "Fuck me."

The fire jutsu exploded between them as they tore at each other shirts, arms and hands fumbling until they were cast aside. Sasuke dragged his hands over the wet bandages and knew the warm heat was blood soaking through the cloth.

Sasuke grunted when the cold shock of the lubricant slipped inside his ass. Sasuke seethed at the friction as their bare skin slipped against each other. In Sasuke's mind's eye, he could follow the dips and valley of Iraiyas abs and travel the peaked mountaintops of his hips.

Sasuke was dragged forward when Iraiya's hands lifted under Sasuke's backside and lifted the weight of Sasuke around his waist. Iraiya began to edge his way inside. Sasuke's eyes went wide at the feel of Iraiya inside of him. Sasuke suddenly realized this is what he needed all along: Iraiya to fill him and make him whole.

Sasuke had never before bottomed willingly. Before, Orochimaru had taken it. The clients at the whorehouse had taken it. The bandit had taken it. It justified why Sasuke could take from Iraiya, because so many had taken from him. And no matter how much Iraiya said otherwise, sex was about power and control because that's all Sasuke knew.

But this was different, fuck, it was different, Sasuke cursed as Iraiya withdrew only to fill him again, deeper this time, more. Iraiya raised Sasuke into a kiss. The faster he thrust, the sloppier his kisses became.

Sasuke moaned, an aching lust-bound sound he never knew his body could make. Sasuke was thrust deeper into the bed as Iraiya changed positions, angling deeper, panting.

Lightning sparked through Sasuke's chakra networks when Iraiya hit that spot. Sound hollowed in his ears and the world twisted into a shape Sasuke no longer understood.

For a few brief moments, all Sasuke could smell was the vanilla of the lubricant, taste Iraiya's cum still lingering underneath his tongue, hear the rhythm – that perfect rhythm when your body is in complete synchronization with someone else.

Like a rolling thunder in his ears, Sasuke came. Iraiya gave three hard thrusts and finally replied in turn. Iraiya was about to pull out to drop his load elsewhere but Sasuke clasped a hand around Iraiya's hips possessively.

Sasuke collapsed back, legs shaking. He had never felt so spent, as if both his body and emotions had been pushed to their limits. He has only felt this sort of exhaustion once in his life – in the Valley of the End lying next to Naruto, broken, spent, and exhausted. But despite it all, in that still moment, vengeance hadn't existed, nor his hatred, or the weight of the decisions he would have to face once he got up. Just burning limbs, stuttering breaths, chakra tingling, the scent of sweat and rawness, _life._

* * *

One morning Sasuke would wake up and appreciate the warmth emanating from the body next to him, and the next morning he would all but kick and punch Iraiya out the bed until Iraiya fled the room. This morning was the latter.

"Get out," Sasuke snapped, his body tense and his breath stuttering. "I thought I told you not to come to my bed anymore."

"Sasuke," Iraiya said as he cradled a bruised eye. "You're in my bed. You came to me last night."

Sasuke paused as Iraiya slammed the door behind him. Then he realized the angle of the sunlight was different. There were two pillows instead of four. This was Iraiya's room.

Sasuke sucked in the stutters. He dropped his head in his hand and felt so disgusting and weak. Every night he would break down and suddenly miss the smell of maple leaves and the rough strands of Iraiya's hair through his fingers. But when he woke up, sometimes it was too close. Iraiya was too close.

He had allowed Iraiya to top during sex, and unlike Orochimaru or the bandit, Iraiya had been different. In one night, Iraiya had shattered all of Sasuke's preconceived notions about himself. Sasuke had given Iraiya the one thing that he treasured above power or even vengeance – control.

Sasuke slammed the door closed behind him in his anger and all but stormed toward his own bedroom to shower and get dressed for the day. All those who worked in the power-plant knew to avoid the warlord's path of anger that seemed to leave a trail of fire behind in its wake.

Sasuke and Iraiya suddenly existed in a constant confusing twist of boundaries. They haven't had sex since that morning Iraiya woke from his injuries but it was constantly on Sasuke's mind. Even so, Sasuke refused to reach out first as if doing so would prove that Iraiya still had some sort of control over him.

The shower in his new abode came to life with instant heat. Jintaro had built accommodations within the dam in case he had ever needed to retreat outside the boundaries of Amegakure.

Sasuke finished with his shower, got dressed, and buckled on his sword. The moment Sasuke walked into the hallway, he was instantly greeted with, "Boss."

Because once hundreds of people gave their lives in service to his leadership and called him a Warlord, Sasuke couldn't exactly go back.

There was one man in his service braver than the others or perhaps smarter in picking his moments when to approach Sasuke.

"I have recent news on Momochi," the man replied. Sasuke had already determined that the man was rather young, but capable and intelligent at reading people. One of the man's distinctive traits that Sasuke immediately recognized was that the lieutenant didn't walk like a trained ninja and therefore assumed the man had been informally groomed on the streets of Ame.

"Report," Sasuke requested as he entered the room he had set-up as his office. A hot cup of coffee was waiting for him.

"Last night, Momochi's forces were forced back to the bridge."

"Keep pushing Momochi back," Sasuke ordered.

"Yes Boss, but I am concerned about the terrain advantage Momochi has over the bridge. It would be more effective if we can manage to sneak some of our forces to the other side through the sewers. Then we can coordinate a surprise attack with our main group."

Sasuke gave the lieutenant an annoyed glare, who always recommended a better solution. If there was a brains behind Jintaro, this guy was probably it. If this recent personal crisis wasn't distracting Sasuke so much, he might have cared about Momochi or the fate of Ame but, "Whatever, just do what you want."

The lieutenant had already, in Sasuke's name, refused to charge civilians for electricity. "Sasuke" had lowered the prices on rent and now gave people an eviction notice instead of slaughtering their entire family for missing a payment.

"There is one more note of interest. We've received word from Himayo. He wants to offer a truce against Momochi. You're going to have to make a personal appearance."

Sasuke didn't miss the fact that Himayo was only now willing to step forward with a truce once Sasuke's side began winning battles against Momochi.

"Hn," Sasuke decided. It wasn't exactly an answer but the lieutenant was smart enough not to pry and dismissed himself from Sasuke's office.

Sasuke sipped on the bitter taste of his coffee, the heat touched a cold that the shower could not reach. The smell of coffee beans had become a comfort as steady as the rise of Iraiya's chest.

* * *

Ame's casinos were infamous. It was the only casino in the world where you could both openly gamble away your wife and your life. Drugs were openly dealt onto the gambling table as the cards were.

There was a rumor that had now turned into a proud local folktale that Himayo had once fucked the princess of Konoha after she lost at one of his gambling tables. The rumor had gotten so out of hand that the casino's most popular cocktail had been named, "Tsunade's Pussy Juice."

It was that cocktail that had been offered to Sasuke upon his meeting with Himayo.

Sasuke sipped the surprisingly tangerine flavored drink as he studied his surroundings. Immediately, Sasuke recognized Himayo as a man of decadence. The room was heavily perfumed with agarwood incense. Sasuke sat on a plush satin couch that drowned his lithe frame. The more one attempted to sit up, the further one fell. In response, Sasuke lazily drew his arm over the seat and lounged, unimpressed.

"It still amuses me to no end that Jintaro was defeated by a man of your," Himayo chuckled, a sound between a garble and coughing up mucus, "handicap."

Old, probably his late fifties, Sasuke determined. There were ten of Himayo's guards standing in the room. Evidently, Himayo was wise enough to still fear someone of Sasuke's "handicap".

"Hn," Sasuke responded.

"I hope you have found my hospitality welcoming," Himayo leered and Iraiya shifted uncomfortably behind Sasuke. "I have been notified of your preferences and any of my boys would be happy to please you if you so desired."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, uninterested.

Exasperated, and not much small talk left to discuss, Himayo finally wormed his way to the most important topic, "Let's combine our forces and resources to take down Momochi."

"Hn," Sasuke answered.

"Is that the only thing you say?" Sasuke heard a streak of annoyed anger in Himayo's voice that the old man was unable to hide.

Sasuke used the balance of his cane to stand up. He was done here. He wanted to smell the man, and hear his voice, and taste the company the man surrounded himself with.

"Thanks for the drink," Sasuke said with a haughty smirk as he tapped his cane into an end table and navigated around it.

"I guess I shouldn't have expected much of the Last Uchiha."

Sasuke stopped. He hadn't expected his opponent to know his identity even though Sasuke had never gone through the effort of hiding it. Then he realized the choice of tonight's beverage hadn't been an accident.

"I've already informed Konoha. I'm just going to sit here and wait for the day Konoha comes to assassinate you."

"Konoha can try," Sasuke sneered, but it was a front. This meant that the hunter-nin were coming. Sasuke would have run again and if he wanted Iraiya to survive, he'd have to leave Iraiya behind.

Sasuke assessed the chakra levels of Himayo's ten guards and began to regret that the only other company he brought with him was Iraiya in a show of superiority. Because at this point, Sasuke really didn't want to leave the room without killing the old pervert.

That phlegm congested chuckle sputtered as Himayo said, "Konoha is everywhere. One day your own shadow is going to turn on you. With you dead, Momochi will be too strong to defeat alone and I'll go into hiding. Then do you know what will happen? Konoha will kill Momochi because Konoha doesn't want Ame to have peace. It wants chaos." Himayo chuckled, "The next set of warlords will rise and I'll still be alive, in my casino, with my wrinkled dick in a ten-year old girl."

Himayo sat back with a smug certainty in his voice, "All I have to do is wait."

A wave of heat, and then a sudden blast knocked Sasuke off his feet. The explosion rang in Sasuke ears as he frantically searched the floor for the cane he had dropped.

Iraiya's hand landed around Sasuke's arm, helped him to his feet, and shoved Sasuke's cane back into his hand.

"What's happening?" Sasuke demanded.

"One of Himayo's guards just turned on him. Himayo's dead," Iraiya whispered.

Sasuke jerked Iraiya behind him and unsheathed his sword. The window shattered and then a rapid sound of projectiles hit their marks. Nine bodies dropped to the ground. Sasuke stepped forward and his cane stabbed into something soft, but with further pressure glanced against something hard. Sasuke nudged it with his foot, realized it was a severed arm, and shoved it out his way.

"Uchiha Sasuke, it is not your time yet."

Back in the brothel, Sasuke had served several ANBU and they were always easy to identify by their dead expression of voice. Once Sasuke determined that an attack was not forthcoming, Sasuke sheathed Zatoichi.

Sasuke tapped his cane sharp against the metal edge of the display table and listened as the sound echoed throughout the room to reveal the location of the ANBU.

Sasuke stepped forward and when the snipers outside the window did not take a shot at him, Sasuke grew bolder and approached even further. The ANBU moved to take a defensive stance but stopped short.

Sasuke realized Himayo had been speaking some truth. There were leaves blowing in the shadows.

There were Leaf ANBU outside the window and maybe somewhere in the casino, or even somewhere in the room with him who had just ordered the ANBU that Sasuke faced to stand down.

Then without fear or hesitation, Sasuke slapped his hand forward.

A tension of the shoulders was the only hint to reveal the ANBU's surprise. Sasuke studied the distinct texture of the ANBU mask – hard like bone but not as brittle, cold like a dead corpse but with a living will, smooth like a weathered stone but not as battered. Sasuke frowned when he couldn't find an exact definition. The quest to define the exact texture of an ANBU mask could take a lifetime.

Sasuke dragged his hands over the leaf symbol engraved into the mask. It's been years since Sasuke touched it and could trace the familiar lines by memory. Sasuke molded his hand over the mask's shape and studied the animalistic features: Fox.

Then Sasuke withdrew his hand and released the ANBU agent, all too aware of the snipers still positioned outside of the room.

"You are no longer hunted by Konoha," The ANBU agent informed Sasuke, "But the moment you cross the border into Fire Country, you will die."

Offended by the fact Konoha didn't think him worthy of chasing after anymore, Sasuke's anger got the best of him. He struck with a raikiri… and placed his hand through shadow.

"Sasuke," Iraiya said behind his shoulder. "Sasuke, who are you attacking?"

Sasuke blinked when for a moment the sound of rain was distorted and then stilled again. It wasn't until then that Sasuke realized he had been caught in a genjutsu and the ANBU agent was long gone.

The genjutsu had fooled Sasuke in its details, so much so that Sasuke could have sworn that only a sharingan or a genjutsu master of Kurenai's level could capture such intricate detail.

Sasuke closed his hand as the emotions lingered in his palm. The mask – it felt so real.

* * *

Sasuke's shoulders strained as he beat the metal atop the anvil. The forge sounded cranky from ill use.

Sasuke couldn't put his finger on it but something about Konoha's sudden appearance bothered him. It was one thing to talk about hunting ghosts but it was another for one to show up in your living room. The metal splintered.

Konoha knew he was in Ame, and yet they didn't care.

Frustrated, Sasuke tossed the ruined metal aside. He could fix it but it would save more time by simply starting over. Sasuke reached to grab another piece but stopped when Iraiya landed his hand atop his.

"Sasuke, you've been at this for three days. Talk to me."

Sasuke didn't miss the concern in Iraiya's voice, not necessarily concern for a loved one but a hesitant concern for the type of crazy that could declare vengeance on an entire village.

Sasuke dropped the hammer and it slammed down with a hard metal ring against the edge of the forge. Sasuke whipped around, shoved Iraiya's back against the table where tools clattered on the ground, and shut Iraiya up the easy way. Sasuke melted into the heat of Iraiya's mouth, as easily as he had melted into the heat of the forge or the heat of his own anger.

When Sasuke released Iraiya to grab a breath, Iraiya whispered, "This isn't going to solve anything either."

Peeved that Iraiya refused to drop the issue, Sasuke's hand tightened around the rough rusted hilt of a fire poker. The poker iron whipped across Iraiya's face so hard, Iraiya's was thrown off balance, and fell back.

"Fuck," Iraiya cursed. Heavy metal groaned and a waterfall of hot coals went skittering across the floor. One tumbled to a stop against Sasuke's foot.

Sasuke's throat cringed and suddenly time was a blur as he rescued Iraiya from the tipped over forge, carried Iraiya up the stairs, stripped him of his shirt and shoved him in the shower under a run of cool water.

Iraiya seethed.

"How bad is it?" Sasuke asked frantically, trying to determine how bad the collapsed forge had burned him.

"Burned along my forearm," Iraiya bit out. Sasuke immediately made a shadow clone and ordered it to the store. While they were waiting for the shadow clone to return, an awkward silence fell between them.

Until Iraiya said, "You hit me with a fucking poker iron."

"It was an accident," Sasuke said immediately in response, and then backtracked immediately. "It was your fault. You shouldn't have bothered me."

"Get out," Iraiya snapped. Sasuke flinched back at a sudden splash of water in his face. "Get out."

Sasuke stepped back at the sharpness of Iraiya's anger. Sasuke slammed the door behind him and then wiped away the water dripping down his face. He hadn't meant for this to happen.

* * *

Sasuke looked up from his third shot of whiskey as Iraiya's wet feet descended down the stairs.

"I can't do this, Sasuke," Iraiya whispered.

"Can't do what?" Sasuke snapped and punctuated his sentence by slamming his cup on the table. "You take harder hits than that in sparring practice. So you're just going to whine like a little bitch?"

"Ever since we had sex you've been worse. You're _more_ volatile and I don't know if you're going to kiss me or hit me," Iraiya said frustrated. "I refuse to be your punching bag every time you have a temper tantrum. I can't… Sasuke, you've got to change if you want to continue with whatever we have."

"Change?" Sasuke seethed. "I'm fucking blind. I drink coffee. I take it in the ass. I've already fucking changed."

As far as Sasuke was concerned, he's been doing nothing but bending and twisting since the moment he lost his eyesight.

"Then I can't…" Iraiya caught his breath when Sasuke let go of his empty glass and walked with a dangerous swagger towards him.

"Can't what?" Sasuke challenged. He approached and stepped within Iraiya's breathing space. Sasuke physically battered him with his killing intent, until Iraiya gulped and stepped down. Sasuke slammed his hand forward to the wall, barring the exit, a reminder that Sasuke was always in the way of the door.

When an answer didn't come, Sasuke ordered, "Sit down at the table, grab a drink, and shut up."

He crossed his arms and listened as Iraiya tentatively moved as commanded. Sasuke turned and grabbed the bowl of balm he had prepared before Iraiya came down with his bitching. By the time Sasuke had returned to the table, Iraiya had downed an entire glass of whiskey.

Sasuke wrenched Iraiya's burnt arm towards him, crouched down, and began to apply the balm across the smoothened skin.

"What is it?" Iraiya asked, reluctantly.

"It's called the Fan of Four Degrees. It's a famous balm for burns that the Uchiha used to make. I couldn't find all the ingredients so this is a watered down version but it will be enough to help you heal."

"Is it supposed to make my arm go numb?"

"Would you rather feel the pain?" Sasuke retorted.

"It's not the first time I've been burned," Iraiya snorted but didn't pull his arm away when Sasuke began wrapping gauze around it. "You create fire but have you ever been on the tail-end of one?"

It was an interesting question to consider. Although he has suffered minor burns over the years, the sort that came with growing up in the Uchiha Clan, he has never been on the tail-end of a major fire-jutsu. It was laughable really. A Uchiha created fire, not let it burn them.

"No," Sasuke answered smugly.

"Being on the tail-end of a fire jutsu is very much like being in a relationship with you," Iraiya quipped.

Sasuke paused at Iraiya's dead-panned, snide, and fatalistic remark. "Stop being dramatic."

"I'm the dramatic one?" Iraiya asked exasperated. "You ask me to stay but you haven't shown any inclination that you want me sexually anymore. You run to my bed at night to cuddle then kick me out of my own bed the next morning. You try to kill me with a poker iron and now you're bandaging my wounds. Do _you_ know what you want?"

Sasuke frowned at Iraiya's list of his own irrational behavior. Sasuke searched for an answer but all he could find was, "Hn."

"Right, run away like always."

"And what the fuck do you know about me?" Sasuke snapped as he raised himself to his full height, towering over Iraiya who was sitting down.

"I know you're in love with me," Iraiya whispered. "And you can't _deal_ with it."

Sasuke vaulted forward. Wood crashed against the floor as the chair tore apart on impact. Sasuke slammed Iraiya to the ground with his hands clutched around Iraiya's throat.

Iraiya choked out at Sasuke's tightening hands, "And I know you can't kill me."

Sasuke tightened his hands, his body shaking, his heart beat racing, and his anger at Iraiya's audacity rushing through his ears. Until, Sasuke released a sob and loosened his hands. "I should have killed you that night in the brothel. I should have killed you before you did this to me."

Iraiya sucked in a breath and the two men heaved exhausted breaths. Sasuke closed his eyes to the sudden brush of fingers up his neck. His throat constricted when a warm hand began to sneak up his shirt. Sasuke couldn't stop himself from rolling the friction of his groin into Iraiya's hips.

"I want you to fuck me," Sasuke surrendered as he snatched Iraiya by the hair and brought their lips together in a rolling and stomach-twisting embrace. "I want you to take control of me."

Sasuke shivered in anticipation when Iraiya rolled his hands over his ass.

* * *

It had been even better than the last time.

Sasuke laid butt-naked against the floor of Narita's kitchen, content and exhausted in a way that even the best of sparring sessions couldn't achieve. Between them they shared the rest of the whiskey bottle.

Sasuke heard the slight sound of Iraiya gulp down a mouthful of alcohol as Sasuke rolled circles along Iraiya's hip bone.

"Narita would kill us fucking on his floor," Iraiya said with some concern.

"The dead is dead," Sasuke scoffed. "We should break his bed next. Not like he ever _used_ it."

"Dude, Sasuke, Narita totally had a thing with the widow down the street. You really thought she was in here every day because her sink kept "breaking"?"

"Eh?" Sasuke's eyes widened once he realized Narita did disappear for a long time when the widow had needed someone to repair whatever her clumsiness had broken. He could really be unobservant sometimes. Iraiya snickered at his expression.

Then Sasuke took another sip of alcohol and said casually, "Narita reminded me of one of my uncles."

"And I thought you two had gotten along so well because of your shared love of being grumpy all the time."

Sasuke listened to how the whiskey whirled in the glass. "Uchiha are usually lean, but Shitake, he could rival Jiraiya in size. Everyone in the clan believed Nanny, Shitake's mum, had an affair outside the clan but as long as Shitake could activate the sharingan no one cared." Sasuke whispered even softer. "He used to pick me up with these huge hands and let me ride on his shoulders. My father never did that for me." Sasuke tilted his head. "I never saw Narita, but in my mind, he had my uncle's shoulders and my uncle's hands."

The moments were filled with the battering of violent rain outside the window, until finally Iraiya said, "It's the first time you've ever spoken of your family like that."

Sasuke responded with another drink.

Iraiya asked carefully, as if crawling through fire, "I'd like to know more about them."

It was the first time anyone had asked that of Sasuke.

"I had forty-two uncles, thirty one aunts, fifty-one cousins, seventy-eight second cousins, and twice as many third cousins, great-uncles, and great aunts. I had two grandparents on my mother's side and one on my father's side. All of my great-grandparents had died before the massacre but I vaguely remember the honey-apple perfume on my great-grandmother from when I was a toddler. I had one mother, one father, and one brother."

"That's a lot of family. Did you get along with all of them?" Iraiya asked.

"No," Sasuke said after some thought. "Itachi was never as close as I wanted him to be. My father was… my father. There was an aunt who pinched my cheeks every time I saw her. I hated her. Although it was worth it every time she did the same to Itachi." Sasuke smirked and then smiled. "The woman pinched Itachi's cheeks till the day he killed her. Sometimes I'd like to imagine that he probably let her do it one last time before he sliced a kunai across her neck."

This time Sasuke finished his glass of alcohol in one gulp. Iraiya silently poured him another.

Sasuke picked up the filled glass. "Why doesn't Konoha see me as a threat anymore? Have they underestimated me because I'm blind?"

"Maybe Konoha is just playing you against Momochi," Iraiya suggested.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and thought it through. "To win Ame, either I or Momochi is going to have to die. That's a win-win for Konoha either way. Konoha is letting Momochi do its dirty work," Sasuke said darkly, and then scoffed. "I won't give Konoha the satisfaction."

"Sasuke," Iraiya sighed exasperated, "Why can't you just let Konoha go?"

Perhaps it was the same reason he couldn't let Iraiya go.

"Because…" Sasuke bit his lip and tried to access the reason why Konoha had its claws in him so deeply. He was suddenly bombarded with the smell of maple leaves, the warmth of Fire Country's summer sun, the whistle of wind through blossomed flowers in spring, and the smell of fresh snow on the streets of Konoha. Sasuke said with finality, "because."

And then, after another drink, "Besides, I hate the rain."

Iraiya pointed out with a drunken stutter, "It rains in Konoha too."

"Not like this," Sasuke frowned. "In Ame, the rain is cold and sharp like knives. In Konoha, the rain brings the smell of fresh grass and falls on the skin like rain tapping on leaves."

"Sometimes," Iraiya ventured carefully, "it sounds as if you miss Konoha."

"Maybe… I do miss it." Sasuke said softly. "One day I'll take you to Konoha and we'll fuck in the private part of the river that runs through the Uchiha training grounds. We'll fuck under the forest of maple leaves that surround the Uchiha compound in autumn when all the leaves turn a red as a deep as the sharingan. We'll fuck under the cherry blossoms, in the spring rain, atop the Shodaime's head, and on the Kage's desk. This, I promise you."

"No," Iraiya whispered. "This is enough."

Sasuke closed his eyes to the sound of sharp rain thrown against the windows.

No, it wasn't.

* * *

Sasuke woke up sudden in the middle of the night, gasping as if he had been drowning. Sasuke wiped his sweaty head from his forehead and calmed until he suddenly realized that Iraiya wasn't lying next to him in bed.

Which was odd as they have spent the last week in bed. Sasuke listened and realized there was no one breathing far on the other side of the bed, no water running in the bathroom, and footsteps in the room.

Iraiya was gone.

Sasuke pulled himself out of bed and winced at the soreness that crept up his spine after their activities a few hours ago. He reached for some pants. He didn't bother to reach for his cane as he knew the power plant well enough to get around on his own. Iraiya could have easily gone back to his room but it was odd as the spot next to his was relatively cold suggesting Iraiya had been gone for some time.

It's not as if Sasuke had anything else better to do. He knew he would not be falling asleep anytime soon after that chilling nightmare that still had his heart racing.

With his hands in his pockets, Sasuke casually navigated the hallways of the power plant. He suddenly stopped when he heard whispering around the corner. Sasuke tensed at the sound of Iraiya's muffled voice. Sasuke pressed himself to the wall immediately and attempted to listen but by the time he redirected chakra to his ears, a door opened and closed. Suddenly Iraiya and… the lieutenant's voice was much clearer.

"Thanks, I needed that." The lieutenant replied. "It's hard being so close to you and yet you're so far away."

"It's better this way. We need to maintain our distance but… I'm sorry I'm not the Boss," Iraiya responded.

"No, you were good enough. And Iraiya, be careful with him."

"I know," Iraiya said before the two men parted and Iraiya's footsteps were drawing closer to Sasuke every second, but they were slow, without any idea that he had been overheard.

Sasuke rushed back to his room with a thousand thoughts racing through his head… and then anger, uncontrollable volatile anger.

When Iraiya creaked open the door and attempted to sneak back into the bedroom, Sasuke greeted by whipping a walking cane across his face. "You're cheating on me with the lieutenant?!"

"What?" Iraiya held out his hands in sudden surrender to stop the beatings but the cane whipped and broke fingers on the second swing.

"I heard you two in that closet. I heard you two talking. What the fuck did you do? Did you suck his dick? Did you cum in his ass?"

"Sasuke!" Another blow garbled what Iraiya was going to say next. "Sasuke, it's a misunderstanding. It's not what it looks like."

"I'm not an idiot," Sasuke spat. "It's the middle of the fucking night. You were sneaking back into the room. I. Caught. You."

Sasuke wasn't going to kill Iraiya but he sure as hell was going to teach him a lesson. Sasuke pulled Iraiya up from the hair, blood dripping down his arm where Iraiya was bleeding from a cut across his eye, and threw Iraiya into the wall. A vase shattered on the ground.

Sasuke's hands flashed through a series of hands seals. Sasuke smirked at the thrumming power of electricity that erupted in his hand. He approached Iraiya with a raikiri.

* * *

Sasuke slammed the door off the hinges when he stormed back into his bedroom after searching hours for the lieutenant who was evidently smart enough to be gone by morning.

"Report," Sasuke snapped at the medic ninja currently attending to Iraiya. "His _fall_ ," the medic ninja said nervously, "has left him with two broken ribs, a broken leg, four broken fingers, and various bruises, abrasions, and third-degree burns along his body. With the proper medical care he should be able to begin physical therapy within the month."

Sasuke didn't want to know any of that. "When will he be well enough to have sex?"

The medic ninja stumbled, "Uh, well I certainly don't recommend it for quite some time."

"Get out," Sasuke said impatiently. A wind brushed past him at the speed the nurse ran out of the room.

Sasuke sat on the bed and heard Iraiya moan at the jostling. Sasuke reached out a hand and Iraiya turned away from the touch. "It's your fault. You forced me to do this to you."

"If you had just listened," Iraiya rasped. "I didn't do anything with the lieutenant."

"And that's why he's disappeared? Because he's innocent?"

"Or maybe because he knows you will kill him," Iraiya replied. "Sasuke… I would never, I could never…." Iraiya breathed in a breath and Sasuke knew a practiced speech when he heard one. "Yes, I knew the lieutenant from my previous assignment in Ame but that man is like a little brother to me."

"And you didn't tell me that you knew him?" Sasuke interrogated.

"When have you ever been interested in my life before you?" Iraiya demanded. "Besides, I knew you'd act this irrational."

"I don't believe you," Sasuke said with narrowed eyes.

"It's not what it looks like. Trust me."

Sasuke stood up and crossed his arms.

"I trusted Itachi."

* * *

But Sasuke always came back. He changed Iraiya's bandages, helped him swallow his pain medication, and helped Iraiya up from the bed to use the toilet or the shower.

"Maybe I shouldn't have hit you so hard," Sasuke said in frustration. It was taking Iraiya so long to get better even with the medic ninja healing him daily.

"Maybe a little less in the nuts would have been nice," Iraiya mumbled around his chewing. Iraiya could stand on his own now but still limped when he walked.

"Hn," Sasuke replied and impaled the expensive sushi with his chopsticks.

Then Sasuke turned when a sudden knock came at the door. He set down his chopsticks. When he opened the door he could literally hear the new lieutenant shaking in his boots. Although, Sasuke didn't blame him. He had killed the last two in the position. And he wasn't above killing someone for interrupting his dinner.

"Boss. I'm sorry to bother you sir, but… we've got a problem."

"This better be important," Sasuke warned.

The messenger answered, "Momochi began to push our forces back and he used the river to his advantage. We just lost half our forces."

"Tell the men to hold their position and regroup," Sasuke ordered. "I'll be there in a moment."

Sasuke closed the door and melted back into his bedroom. Sasuke immediately began to dress and strapped Zatoichi to his hip.

"What's going on?" Iraiya asked.

"Momochi attacked," Sasuke answered.

"Sasuke," Iraiya said softly. "Be careful out there. A lot of things aren't what they seem."

Sasuke scoffed. It was about time he killed this Momochi.

* * *

"That's it?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, rather disappointed by the number of opponents that met the edge of his blade tonight. Sasuke turned to question his subordinate, who stood at a rather odd distance away from Sasuke, as if unwilling to climb over the pile of corpses at his feet. "Was this Momochi's main force? This can't be it."

"No, sir. This is only a fourth of the men Momochi is capable of. I don't know what's going on."

Then it hit Sasuke, and his mouth dropped realizing his sudden mistake. "Fall back to the dam immediately. Fall back. This was a trap."

* * *

"Sir," the newest lieutenant stammered, confused. "We're not the only ones fighting for the dam. Looks like Leaf ninja, sir."

Sasuke suddenly wondered why Konoha would creep out of the shadows to prevent Momochi from gaining the dam. Nevertheless, he could use this to his advantage.

"Prepare to attack," Sasuke ordered.

"But sir, wouldn't it be wiser to just retreat and let Konoha have it?" The Lieutenant asked.

Sasuke once again repeated the order. He had no intention on helping Konoha but he sure as hell didn't want Momochi to have it either. Besides, he needed to get to Iraiya.

When the men were ready, Sasuke gave the order to attack. The rumble of their footsteps thundered the ground. Sasuke used the men to cut him an easy path toward the door, evaded an errant water jutsu… or maybe that was just the rain? He didn't hesitate leaving his men behind to climb the stairs toward his bedroom.

Judging from the sounds and direction of the battle, the Leaf ninja were trying to prevent Momochi's men from getting to the control room. Sasuke stumbled when the ground began to shake underneath him.

Sasuke tapped the end of his sword hilt testily around the bedroom to survey the damage. There were no signs of a struggle but it was empty. Sasuke popped his head out from the bedroom in an attempt to determine where to go next.

Sasuke pressed himself against the wall when a sudden squad of ninja rushed past him. Sasuke followed until he arrived at the top of the dam where the wind slapped wet strands of his hair into his face.

"Sir, we can't dig the Leaf ninja out of the engine room and the Uchiha's forces have returned from the bridge," The ninja complained.

"How many leaf ninja did they have planted in that fool's army?" Momochi snarled. "Direct all our manpower to that-."

Sasuke's whipped around when Momochi's orders were suddenly interrupted by the heat of a fire jutsu. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and stayed in the shadows to observe the sudden clash and an opening to strike Momochi down. Then Sasuke tensed when the movements of Momochi's sudden opponent was odd for a formally trained ninja. He knew the weight of those steps.

_That cock-sucking lieutenant_.

And the lieutenant was losing. Momochi was hands-down the sharper and deadlier one of the match. The rain formed a water dragon outside the lieutenant's field of vision. Momochi tricked him right into the blow. Sasuke heard the distinct sound of an ANBU mask tip, fall, and tumble down the metal wall of the dam.

Sasuke went cold. The lieutenant was Leaf ANBU… a Leaf ANBU whispering in a closet with Iraiya. Had Iraiya sold him out? What the fuck was going on? It was at that moment Sasuke finally believed Iraiya hadn't sucked anyone's dick but his own. It was a worse sort of betrayal.

Suddenly, the tide of battle changed. The ANBU attacked with a flurry of blows that Momochi couldn't keep up with, as if the ANBU was reading every single one of Momochi's moves before he could make them.

Momochi skidded back and quickly flipped to his feet. He spat a wad of blood to the ground. "Well," Momochi chuckled. "I didn't think Konoha had another sharingan up their sleeve."

Sharingan.

_Sharingan._

_**Sharingan.** _

Sasuke unsheathed his sword and went charging across the dam as the level of water rushing his feet rose past his shins. Sasuke completely charged past Momochi, shoving past him and knocking against his shoulder so hard, Momochi fell sideways, tumbled, and fell down the dam in shock.

The ANBU barely managed to evade Sasuke's blade with a kunai. The tip nicked across the ANBU's arm and blood splattered atop the metal.

"What the- ah, fuck, it's you," the ANBU cursed.

It was the same scent as before. Sasuke recognized this ANBU as more than just his former lieutenant. It was the same one from Himayo's office. It was the Fox.

Then the grinding noise of the generator stopped.

"Delta squad, copy," The ANBU's attention was distracted as he demanded into his radio. "Retreat. I repeat…"

Sasuke blew an annoyed breath when the ANBU jumped over his katana and instead turning to fight him, began to run away. Sasuke gave chase with a thousand thoughts running even faster in his head.

Sasuke knew it wasn't entirely impossible. He's seen it happen before when he was little. In the Uchiha Clan, if you did not activate your sharingan you were ex-communicated which left many to intermingle with the rest of Konoha's population. It was a tradition upheld since the founding of Konoha and dna tests have proven that most of Konoha's population had a little Uchiha in them. The fire element wasn't the most dominant element in Konoha for nothing. But most of the time, a little Uchiha didn't mean very much, except there was the rare occasion, when some random individual far from the main bloodline activated a sharingan in times of acute stress.

Konoha had a sharingan.

Sharingan.

_Sharingan_.

_**Sharingan**_.

And the damn thing was pulling away. Lightning crackled in Sasuke's hand as he struck the ground and catapulted himself forward. He crashed into ANBU Fox and slammed through a sudden wall of water. Sasuke breathed in a mouthful but refused to release his hand around the man's flak jacket despite the power and pressure of water pulling them apart.

Sasuke coughed and trudged open his eyes. He heard his quarry gasp beside him. They had been washed out somewhere but how far away from Ame, he did not know.

Sasuke heard the ANBU slip his hand into his belt for a kunai. Sasuke reacted and crushed his knee against the ANBU's arm to still it. Sasuke pinned all his weight on the younger man whose slender frame rivaled his own.

Sharingan.

Instantly, his opponent bucked his hips and got his hand free. The jutsu was instinctive. Sasuke knew that all too well as he smirked. He let the boy finish the hand seals that completed the fire jutsu.

What a stupid kid. He didn't deserve the sharingan. Sasuke was all too glad to teach him that lesson.

Fox sucked in a breath, and at that moment, the precise second, Sasuke's fist came down hard on the ANBU's chest.

If he could breathe, the ANBU would have screamed.

Sasuke couldn't imagine what if felt like to set your own lungs on fire but that's why you never complete a fire jutsu so close to an opponent that knew how a fire jutsu worked.

Sasuke sneered as he nudged his foot against the boy's shoulder as the boy squirmed helplessly on the ground. Sasuke was no surgeon but certainly he could figure out how to perform an eye transplant. If a genin Kakashi could do it, he certainly could.

The ANBU managed to grab a hold of the kunai he had been reaching for earlier. Sasuke hadn't bothered to stop him. The boy was dying in insufferable agony. Sasuke would be impressed if he managed to hit him with it.

Fucking pain.

Sasuke groaned as the earth exploded around him. It was as if someone had just kicked him in the face to the other side of Iwa. Sasuke scrambled up. It wasn't raining anymore. Somehow he had been blown to the other side of Rain Country.

In a fit of anger and rage, wondering what kind of fucking kunai that was, Sasuke raced forward until his legs burned with heated exhaustion. Until he found where the Uchiha imposter had been squirming in the ground.

But now the sharingan was gone.

Sasuke shook in disbelief. He had it. Right there in his hands.

* * *

"I figured you'd come looking for me here," Iraiya said softly when Sasuke slammed closed the door to Narita's forge. After a moment, Iraiya asked, "What's wrong? Other than the lake that has sprung up around Ame?"

"At the dam, Momochi and Leaf ninja fighting, sharingan," Sasuke said in clipped sentences. If he wasn't so overcome with his own rage, he would have notice Iraiya's unnatural silence.

"Sasuke…"

"I had it!" Sasuke snapped. "It was a sharingan, Iraiya. I would have been able to see again. I'd have my power back. I almost had the boy but he suddenly disappeared. It was some kunai… maybe a teleportation jutsu like Kamui?"

"What happened?!"

Sasuke turned at Iraiya's near hysterical shout. Then Sasuke narrowed his eyes on Iraiya, his obsession with the sharingan momentarily set aside. "You knew the lieutenant was Leaf ANBU. Did you know he had the sharigan?!" Sasuke demanded. "Did you know?!"

There was a tense silence before Iraiya finally replied, "There's nothing I can do to salvage this cover is there? Sasuke, I'm sorry."

Sasuke jolted back at the guilt and sincerity in Iraiya's voice. Then Sasuke's voice quaked as he asked, " _Who are you_?"

"I am a shadow clone of Uzumaki Naruto. My mission was to observe and interfere only if you should ever turn toward Fire Country. I was only supposed to _watch_. Why couldn't you have let me be in that brothel that night? Why couldn't you have just left me _alone_?"

"Naruto?" Sasuke stuttered as he stepped back, confused with shock trembling down his fingers. At the most, Sasuke had suspected Iraiya sold him out but this was beyond his imagination. "But… but… a shadow clone can't…"

"Uzumaki Naruto is a master of fuuinjutsu. I am currently wearing two seals. One seal hides all identifying scars like my whisker marks. Another seal prevents me from expending chakra but I can absorb natural chakra to maintain my form. I am one of the sturdiest shadow clones the Boss has ever created. In fact, he hasn't expelled me for two years."

Sasuke nerves and shock broke into laughter. This was the stupidest thing he has ever heard. And he has heard some outlandish revelations in his lifetime.

Then Iraiya broke one of the shot glasses. Iraiya lifted his shirt and cut the glass in a ritualistic pattern through a tattoo Sasuke couldn't see on his shoulder. The sudden surge of chakra that suddenly explode from Iraiya shut Sasuke up.

"Sasuke, I'm not the Boss. I haven't been that man in two years. We can still make this work. I mean, Ame is lost to Momochi now but we can find somewhere else. We can… live."

Sasuke punched Iraiya in the face and the shadow clone flipped over the table.

"No," Sasuke snapped and with an expression as mad as when he first claimed vengeance on Konoha, "You lied to me. You _betrayed_ me. You tell Naruto this. I am coming. I am coming for my sharingan."

"Sasuke," Iraiya said as he pulled himself off the ground. "You don't know the Boss. The moment you cross the border, he will kill you."

"He can try," Sasuke challenged as he turned on his heels, walked into the rain, and headed towards Fire Country.

* * *

Sasuke was almost there. He didn't need a map to know. He could hear the rushing water of the river in the distance which bordered Rain and Fire Country. The moment he emerged on the other side, he would be home.

Sasuke quickened his footsteps when the wind brought the smell of the great forest beyond who roots were once settled into place by Hashirama. Sasuke remembered spending many nights as a genin sleeping in the boughs of that forest.

Sasuke stepped one foot onto the water, forward and forward, until finally he stepped onto the damp ground of the opposing river bank. Uchiha Sasuke stepped into Fire Country for the first time in years, since the time he had visited Konoha during the Fourth Shinobi War with Orochimaru.

He took another step forward.

Sasuke was hit so hard the forest barreled over at the impact. The stone face of Hashirama caught his flight. Sasuke crashed into the lake waters centered at the Valley of the End.

"I warned you to stay out of Fire Country," the voice dripped with so much malice and spite that it rivaled Sasuke's madness.

It was Iraiya's voice and yet it wasn't. It was as if a seiyu had come in and twisted the same voice into two different disparate characters.

Sasuke picked himself up with water dripping down his face and clothes. Sasuke said with rage burning through him like a newborn star. " _I want my sharingan_."

That was the least Sasuke was owed.

"You will pay for what you did to Tomu." And that voice was unyielding, unbending, and battered into a resolute hardness. Sasuke was going to enjoy melting it down.

Sasuke heard a blade unsheathe. Sasuke unsheathed his own.

"Boss, stop!"

"You are my shadow clone," Naruto said with disgust. "You do not argue with me."

Sasuke heard a sudden twist of wind spiral towards Naruto and knew his life-long rival had activated the rasengan. Sasuke smirked as he activated raikiri and the lightning chirped in anticipation.

Naruto and Sasuke rushed at each other.

Sasuke stepped onto a seal he didn't see on the ground, which stopped him in his tracks. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized he was caught in some sort of paralysis jutsu and Naruto was still coming at him.

"Wait, Boss. No!"

* * *

The distinct pop of a shadow clone echoed throughout the valley.

Naruto Uzumaki screamed as two years of memories he had refused to recover snapped violently into his head.

* * *

Sasuke took advantage of the moment. He couldn't move but he could still breathe which meant… Sasuke sucked in a breath and aimed the forced and erratic fire jutsu towards the ground. The fire burned the seal holding him and he sprung forward with his sword.

Everything happened so suddenly, all at once.

Sasuke was shoved to the ground and cuffs were snapped around his wrists. Naruto was moved out of Sasuke's sword range.

"Kage-sama, the target has been neutralized. Are you all right?"

It was only then did Sasuke realized that an entire battalion of ANBU had the valley surrounded.

"What's the problem?" Sasuke sneered. "Can't defeat me by yourself anymore?"

Naruto raised himself to his feet, set his shoulders, and asked, "Were you expecting some epic one-on-one fight to the death? Maybe lose an arm or two and cry about our feelings?" Naruto scoffed. "I'm too old for that shit."

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**Being on the tail-end of a fire jutsu is very much like being in a relationship with you.** _

* * *

 


	6. The Last Uchiha

Ever since the events in Ame, Sasuke Uchiha had been going a mile a minute. He hardly slept or ate during his drive toward Fire Country. But now that he was stuck in the oppressive silence of a cell, the initial anger had begun to fade and it left him with this pain that seemed to cut through his chest every time he breathed.

This cell was driving him insane. There was no sound but his harsh breathing, no smell but the smothering of his own sweat, and no touch but for the chakra-blocking cuffs chafed into his wrists and the scrape of the hard stone floor against his knees.

At times, it was as if he was suspended in a vacuum of nothingness and other times, he could have sworn he was falling and falling with no sign of ever landing.

As if someone had suddenly pressed a dephibrilator to his heart, Sasuke jerked up at the sound of a door opening. He knew it wasn't time for his scheduled meal, which was usually kicked across the room. He was expected to eat face down like a dog. Sasuke refused as his ribs ached in starvation. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to die a dog.

"Long time no see."

Sasuke knew that voice. It was more matured and slightly unhenged, like a force of nature intruding where it wasn't wanted. "Ino."

"Sasuke-kun," Ino rotated her tongue around his name like an anaconda around a man's throat. Wood screeched on stone – a chair – and it was set down in front of him. "Welcome to my small little section of Konoha."

It was now evident to Sasuke he was locked deep within the Torture and Interrogation division. A dark hole very few made it out of.

"Why hasn't Naruto killed me yet?" Sasuke asked. The waiting was excruciating. Certainly, Naruto wasn't going to let him rot?

"I ask the questions," Ino lectured like a naughty school teacher. She must have flipped her hair for Sasuke suddenly received the scent of nightshade in her shampoo. Ino sucked in a breath with giddy anticipation. "I always wanted to know what the inside of your dark twisted mind looks like. I am going to steal all of yours secrets and all of your hidden things. I am going to know you better than you know yourself."

"Don't touch me," Sasuke threatened.

"This is the part where I usually say to my prisoner, "I'm going to have so much fun breaking you but… you are already miserably and pathetically broken."

Sasuke jerked back when Ino's hand slapped atop his forehead.

Sasuke's screams consumed the silence of the cell.

* * *

Sasuke snapped awake, wrestled with the covers, and fell out of the bed. Sasuke stared at the size of his hands against the brown floorboards. Sasuke sucked in a quivering breath and a seven-year old Sasuke stood to his feet. He looked around his childhood bedroom. It was barren.

Sasuke swiveled around when he heard a sound coming from the hallway. His hands shook as he tiptoed toward the door. The doorknob turned reluctantly. Sasuke peeked his head out into the hallway and saw nothing but darkness.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" Sasuke called out with a voice the pitch of a mouse's squeak.

Sasuke stepped one careful foot out in the hallway, quickly went back into the room for his stuffed teddy bear, Mr. Snuggles. He was afraid of the dark but Mr. Snuggles made him brave. He crept down the stairs. Sasuke stepped outside of his house and quickly checked to make sure no one was trespassing on Uchiha property.

But the night was still. Sasuke sighed in relief, turned to go back inside when he swiveled at a sudden sound. Sasuke turned around.

Corpses rose from the ground, maggots feasted on dripping flesh, and the skulls turned toward him, all with the blood red orbs of the sharingan.

Sasuke screamed. He dropped Mr. Snuggles on the porch, ran back up the stairs and slammed the door close behind him. Scratch and thumps pounded against the wood of the bedroom door.

"Leave me alone," Sasuke cried as he crawled into the corner of the room, shut his eyes, and slapped his hands over his ears.

"Go away," Sasuke sobbed. The door splintered open.

Hands clawed at Sasuke's shirt. He screamed and kicked, his fingers catching on the floorboards as he was dragged backwards.

"NOOOO!"

* * *

Chains rattled as Sasuke jolted to consciousness. His throat was hoarse and in pain, as if someone had carved a knife through the inside of his throat. Dried streaks of tears ran down his face. Sasuke gasped in the horror and fear that still lingered in every crack of bone and tense tendons in his body. It still felt as if a kunai was drilling through his head.

"That's the first time you've ever been inside of your mindscape, isn't it?"

Sasuke jolted at the sound of Ino's unwanted voice. He felt naked and vulnerable in her presence. She had stripped him of his defenses and exposed him to parts of himself he never wanted to know.

"Stay away from me," The voice of a seven-year old Sasuke pleaded as he attempted to fight against his chains.

"This is the first time I've ever met someone whose mental defenses attack their own host. It's fascinating. There are Yamanaka who would be eager to write psychological reports on you. But, unfortunately for you, that's not my job," Ino said flippantly. "Tell me about Iron Country."

"You already saw everything." Sasuke's words dripped with acid. Ino had been thorough and had gone through every shadowed corner and every recess of Sasuke's mind.

"One's memories aren't always reliable. They twist and blur the truth. Sometimes specific questions or retellings can help the mind remember even more than it had before. Tell me about the weapons Iron Country was building."

Sasuke gave Ino a silent cold stare.

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way," Ino warned sharply. Sasuke flinched when Ino's hand caressed his forehead. Then Ino whispered softly, "You were never able to meet your father's expectations were you? They were just too high."

"Stop it."

"If only Itachi hadn't come in time to save you. If only you had died that day. Things would have been so much easier wouldn't they, Sasuke?"

_Sasuke Uchiha always woke up at 4:00 in the morning every day. He always woke up on the left side of the bed while his wife claimed ownership to the far right. He got up, got dressed, and stepped outside to an empty courtyard._

_He frowned._

_He turned back inside, slammed open the door to Shigaku's room, and frowned even further to find his seven-year old son still asleep in bed._

" _Wake up," Sasuke barked._

_Shigaku snapped awake, swiveled his head around, and gave his alarm clock a look of betrayal. "Father, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean…" Shigaku flinched when Sasuke spoke._

" _Itachi graduated from the Academy at the age of eight. You will never be able to surpass that traitor lying in bed all day. Get up. Get outside."_

_Shigaku raced outside in his pajamas._

_Sasuke's frown remained. After Itachi abandoned and left the village, Sasuke became the heir of the Uchiha Clan. For ten years, he has worked hard to strengthen and redeem the shame of his brother's defection._

_Sasuke stepped outside where Shigaku had begun to stretch. A layer of frost had begun to coat the courtyard. Without warning, Sasuke had slammed his knee into Shigaku's face._

" _Always be prepared." Sauske barked._

_His son was pathetic. But Sasuke continued to push even though his son didn't display the prodigious qualities that Itachi had when he was younger. And that made Sasuke even angrier._

_Shigaku rolled in the dirt, coughing blood, as he failed to protect his abdomen. They finished their morning spar at 7:00. Shigaku dragged himself in the house toward the breakfast table where Sasuke's wife, Sariko, had breakfast already prepared._

_As usual, they sat down to eat breakfast in silence. Even as children, Sasuke had never gotten along with his cousin Sariko but she had exceled among the kunoichi and the Uchiha only bred the best with the best. Sasuke and Sariko hasn't said one word to each other since "I do" at the wedding. And that was seven years ago._

_After breakfast, they dispersed. Shigaku left for school and Sasuke locked himself in his office to confront the various issues facing the Uchiha clan. Sasuke sat down the recent report and considered ways he could make his son stronger. The way the boy was now, he was a disgrace to the Uchiha clan and everyone knew it. Shigaku was unbearably average and that was not acceptable, not for an Uchiha. His son hasn't even activated his sharingan yet. In the shadows they whispered what the future would have been like if Itachi had a son._

_If his son had friends, the solution would be so simple but as it was Shigaku maintained his distance from everyone as if knowing what his father's intentions would be._

_Around 4:00 in the afternoon, Sasuke closed his study and found Shigaku at the dinner table working on homework. "Meet me at the docks when you are finished."_

_Sasuke stood and looked out over the river where his father had once taught him their clan's signature jutsu. He turned when Shigaku came up to the docks. They have been working on the jutsu for a while, but thus far, no major breakthrough._

" _Do it," Sasuke ordered._

_Shigaku fingers came together to form the hands seals, he took in a deep breath, and spewed fire. "Did you see that, Father? It's my best yet."_

" _Not good enough," Sasuke snapped and reprimanded Shigaku for his unwarranted excitement. Itachi had been better. "Keep practicing. Do not come home until you have completed 1,000 of them."_

_Sasuke ordered, shook his head, and turned back toward the compound. Sasuke groaned when he found his mother on the porch. "Where's my grandson? I promised I'd take him to the market today."_

" _He's training," Sasuke said._

" _You have that boy always training or studying. Sasuke, he's a child, you've got to give him time to play like children do."_

" _It is that softness that ruined me," Sasuke said disgusted. "I could have been stronger if you didn't fondle me so much. I could have been strong enough to stop Itachi from leaving."_

" _There was nothing you could have done to stop Itachi," his mother argued. "There was nothing you could have done to fix the rift between Itachi and your father."_

" _Hn," Sasuke grunted. If only he had been stronger, he could have stopped Itachi that fateful night in the Valley of the End. If he could have stopped Itachi, his father wouldn't have stopped talking to him. "Shigaku is training," Sasuke said with finality._

" _Itachi would be so disappointed in you," His mother whispered. "You turned out unhappy and bitter just like your father."_

" _I am nothing like my father," Sasuke snapped and stepped forward with rage. A flash of fear erupted in his mother's eye. Sasuke hand stilled in the air. He watched as his mother stepped back with a shaking head, disappointed, and fled down the road._

_Sasuke dropped his hand and stared at it for several seconds._

" _Uchiha-sama!"_

_Sasuke turned to one of his cousins in the police department. "What is it?"_

" _It's… It's… we found… we found… you're needed at the river."_

_Sasuke frowned and wondered what type of nonsense was going on. Sasuke rushed toward the river where Konoha's police department was trying to disperse the crowd. Only when the bystanders caught sight of Sasuke, did they suddenly rush away._

_Sasuke's steps quickened when a pale blue body was spotted on the banks. Sasuke's heart stopped. His hands shook as he fell to his knees. "Who did this to him?!" Sasuke demanded as he lifted his dead son in his arms._

" _Uchiha-sama, all signs thus far point toward a… suicide."_

_Sasuke shoved the police Captain out of the way, sucked in a breath, and breathed oxygen into the still and cold corpse. He continued until the pain flashed behind his eyes with a sudden of surge of power._

" _Shigaku," Sasuke sobbed, "Shigaku!"_

_The wooden pier floated further away as Sasuke sunk to the bottom of the river. He didn't fight the current as it rushed to take him away from everything, but most importantly, from his father's disappointment._

_Then a hand clutched around his shirt and in one swift motion, Sasuke was pulled out of the water. Sasuke stared up at the sun blinding him as two hands pounded against his chest and then life breathed into his lungs._

_Water was ejected from his lungs in a cough. Then, Sasuke was thrown forward into Itachi's shaking arms._

" _What were you thinking?" Itachi demanded. Sasuke had never seen his elder brother so angry and filled with emotion._

_Sasuke broke into tears. "I can't be you."_

" _Sasuke, you don't have to be me." Itachi assured Sasuke as he rocked him in his arms. "Don't let father change who you are."_

_Sasuke turned away from Itachi bitterly. "That's easy for you to say. He loves you."_

" _No, Sasuke, he loves you too. He's just… after the war he has problems showing it. He used to be different but the war changed him. He doesn't mean to hurt you."_

_Sasuke lowered his head, ashamed, but Sasuke was forced to raise it when Itachi pressed two fingers against his forehead. "Little brother, promise me you won't scare me like that again? Promise me, Sasuke, you'll survive?"_

" _I promise."_

"Maybe Itachi would not have gone through so much pain of murdering his clan and trying to protect you if you had succeeded in dying that day."

"I will kill you," Sasuke snarled as he fought against his chains to break this bitch's neck. Those memories weren't for anyone other than himself and Itachi.

"I'm so scared," Ino drawled sarcastically. Ino leaned forward and brought her lips close to Sasuke's ear. "How many times did you give yourself to Orochimaru?"

Sasuke eyes widened. Not those memories.

"Uchiha Sasuke, the last Uchiha, a whore, and the Snake's butt-boy," Ino chided.

_Sasuke woke abruptly in bed and released his hand on his sword when he realized it was only a knock at the door. The door opened and the candle light in the hallway revealed Kabuto's derisive face. "Lord Orochimaru calls for you."_

_Sasuke was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had been training in an attempt to master kenjutsu all day. He was too tired to deal with Orochimaru but the last time Sasuke refused one of Orochimaru's late night calls, Orochimaru had stopped training him for an entire month._

_Sasuke left his sword on the bed, passed Kabuto's heated glare in the doorway, and walked towards Orochimaru's chambers._

_When Sasuke arrived, Orochimaru was already lying on his bed naked in all but a robe. Orochimaru curled a finger. Sasuke knew the routine by now. He thrust his emotions somewhere deep in his mind, mechanically walked forward and went through the motions. He took off his shirt and pants and allowed Orochimaru to take him into a caress._

" _We're going to do something different tonight my perfect Sasuke-kun."_

_At those words, Sasuke jolted to the present in confusion. He couldn't force himself to calm when Orochimaru suddenly slapped handcuffs around his wrist to the bedpost. "What is this?" Sasuke asked but no matter how much he tried to sound disaffected there was a tremble of fear in his voice. Sasuke immediately began to resist when Orochimaru grabbed his ankle next, in turn Sasuke seethed when a snake bit his neck and suddenly all his limbs felt heavy. He watched helplessly as Orochimaru lifted his leg and cuffed it back beside his wrist. Orochimaru did the same to his other leg._

_Sasuke was spread-eagle and exposed. "You're so wonderfully flexible," Orochimaru admired as he leaned over Sasuke with a gleam in his eyes. Then that tongue stretched forward and trailed along every crevice of Sasuke's body. Sasuke closed his eyes and forced himself to get through this. All he needed to do was last long enough to get enough power. Soon, he'll be powerful to kill Orochimaru and powerful enough to kill Itachi._

_But until then… Sasuke's breath hitched when his body responded to Orochimaru's ministrations. Sasuke never felt so embarrassed or ashamed in his life when Orochimaru abruptly spanked his ass cheek as if his unwanted arousal was some sort of naughty thing that needed to be punished._

_Orochimaru's spankings left red hand imprints in Sasuke's skin, growing redder and angrier the more it began to hurt. But the more it hurt, the more Sasuke's arousal grew and the more his arousal grew, the more he wanted to be punished for it._

_Orochimaru chuckled when Sasuke abruptly moaned after a sharp tap to his ass. Then Orochimaru dove forward and began jerking Sasuke off with the wrap of his tongue. One long fingernail played in Sasuke's ass._

_His teenage body couldn't take it anymore and began to jerk wildly into Orochimaru's ministrations. Then Orochimaru stopped and whispered in Sasuke's ear, "Do you want me to take your perfect tight body?"_

" _Yes, Orochimaru," Sasuke whined._

" _Lord Orochimaru."_

" _Lord Orchimaru, please," Sasuke begged with the sound of his painful erection in his ears._

_Orochimaru smirked, "Gladly."_

_Sasuke screamed as Orochimaru thrust inside of him. Sasuke cried as he begged, screamed, and moaned for Orochimaru to take him._

_Sasuke often remembered bits and pieces of his first year with Orochimaru but Sasuke had completely blocked the second year from memory. That night was the first night Sasuke had begged for it, and every night after that, he had wanted it._

"You whore," Ino gasped scandalous.

"Stop," Sasuke said breathlessly. "Please, stop."

"But there's one more memory we haven't touched yet." Ino said delightfully as if she wasn't a child gleefully tearing apart the fabric of someone's being.

Sasuke broke down in tears. "No, no, no, no…. Don't…"

_Sasuke opened his eyes and stared at the Uchiha symbol on the closed gates of the Uchiha compound. The sky was clear with a new moon. His trembling hand pushed open the door and the scent of blood and death assaulted him._

* * *

Ino Yamanaka loved her job. She might have been divorced and single but the highlight of her day was always coming into the office. She checked the status of her inmates and the progress of the men and woman that served under her. Then she skipped toward the darkest crevice of the T&I organization where her current favorite pet was waiting.

She stopped and stared at Uchiha Sasuke through the mirror that viewed into his cell. His head was bowed and drool dripped from the crevice of his lips. Even Ino had to admit those unnatural blind white eyes unnerved her sometimes. They were blank and distant, staring bloody at broken memories.

"His status."

"Vitals are being mantained," the guard watching over the cell answered. "Although we need to get some food in him soon if he is supposed to live," the guard said slowly as if it was a question.

Honestly, Ino didn't know. The Hokage simply handed the Uchiha over to her division, which typically meant use any means necessary to get whatever information they needed. Ino got the information but she had no idea when Naruto was to going to kill him. She hated secrets. She hated not knowing but the Hokage has gotten skilled over the years at training his mental blocks from keeping her out of his head for at least a few minutes.

Whatever Naruto has decided, Ino was pretty sure he'll act on it once his time was no longer occupied by one of his family members in the hospital.

"What did you do to him?"

Ino jumped when the Kage himself suddenly appeared beside her. She hated when he did that, and he knew she hated it. Sometimes it was a game to get on each other's nerves.

"What you told me. I got the information we needed."

"Hmph," Naruto stopped questioning her methods years ago when she always produced results. "Anything useful?"

"Sasuke killed the Tsuchikage." Ino watched Naruto's face carefully and then slowly began to worm his way into his mind to figure out what he was thinking. "There were also some interesting things about Iron Country and…"

"I expect the full report on my desk by tomorrow." Naruto said and immediately moved out of the range of Ino's mind-reading technique, knowing. Naruto held out his hand and the guard handed him the keys.

Ino didn't need to read Naruto's mind to see the exhaustion and grief written on his face. It was suddenly clear that Naruto's adoptive little brother, Tomu was dying. And when Naruto's family was in danger, things always got interesting.

Ino smirked as she leaned forward and watched the scene unfold on the other side of the mirror.

* * *

Sasuke only flinched when his face hit the floor. He blinked weakly when he realized his hands had been released from the chains holding him aloft. Sasuke's breath hitched when Iraiya's hand grabbed his roughly by the jaw and pulled him up.

"Can you save him?" It was Naruto's hard voice that asked.

Sasuke didn't know where the fuck he had found it, maybe it had been scraped between the stones or hidden in the dirt on his skin, but somehow pride forced him to wrench himself free from Naruto's grip. "Who the fuck are you talking about?"

"The boy whose lungs you set on fire."

Sasuke got the feeling that Naruto was an inch away from snapping his neck. Sasuke didn't know who this Naruto was and felt further betrayed by his failed expectations. This wasn't the boy of second and third chances. This was someone who would give him over to a monster and forced him to replay his nightmares over and over and over again.

Naruto crouched down with a sudden killing intent that Sasuke's found himself choking on. Sasuke shook at the sheer power of it and felt small and helpless in comparison.

"Thirty-two minutes. Ino broke you in thirty-two minutes."

Thirty two minutes?! Sasuke could have sworn it was thirty two years.

"Imagine if I decided to give you to her, without any reigns, to do with as she saw fit. If Tomu dies because of what you did to him, you will re-live your worst memories over and over again until the day you curl up in a miserable ball and die."

Both men heard Ino's sudden gleeful laughter outside of the cell.

"That boy made his own grave." Sasuke spat. "He doesn't deserve the sharingan."

Naruto swiftly stood up.

"I should not have tried," then Naruto turned on his heels and proclaimed. "Ino, he's yours."

And sometimes pride was Sasuke's worst undoing. He surrendered in a shock of fear and horror.

"No, you can't give me to that monster. I can save him. I can save him… just please, please…" Sasuke never thought he'd see the day when he was begging at Naruto's feet but anything to keep Ino Yamanaka out of his head.

Sasuke looked up when Naruto stopped in front of him. "Tomu is sealed just like the Hyuuga are sealed. If you try to take his eyes, it would kill the both of you and render the attempt useless."

"Tomu," Sasuke said the name, disgusted. What a very un-Uchiha name it was. Sasuke honestly didn't know if he cared about the sharingan anymore. He was just… tired. He wanted to stab a sword through his chest and be rid of these nightmares.

Then Naruto slapped two hands on Sasuke's thin shoulders. Sasuke's stomach did flips as the air whooshed around him. But suddenly his feet were no longer standing on the stone floor of the cell.

He heard the desperate beep of a ventilator. Sasuke immediately identified Naruto had used some sort of teleportation jutsu.

"Sakura has done all she can," Naruto whispered. "What can you do?"

Sasuke opened the door and walked into the room. He easily avoided stumbling into the respirator that was forcing its patient to breathe. Sasuke traced his fingers on the edge of the bed as he walked around it and brushed atop the boy's hand.

Sasuke picked up his hand – soft, not calloused as it should be – "How old is he?"

"Eighteen," Naruto answered.

Sasuke blankly stared at the last thing that remained other than him of the Uchiha Clan, the last thing remaining of a tragic bloody legacy. A Uchiha suffering from a mistake that a Uchiha would never make. "How is he related?"

Naruto released an impatient sigh. But as long as that ventilator kept breathing air into the boy's being, they had a lifetime. "His grandfather on his Mother's side was directly related. His name was Fushiro."

Sasuke closed his eyes. Fushiro – his Father's elder brother, a huge disappointment and shame on the clan when he never activated his sharingan.

Which would make the boy… cousin.

Cousin.

Sasuke hadn't reason to say that word aloud in years. And his hand softened as he brushed his fingers along the boy's jaw. A pain ached at the corner of his eyes.

"Are there black flecks in the tube from the air he expels?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. According to Sakura there is ash in his lungs that's preventing him from breathing on his own. She can't get it out without killing him."

Sasuke lifted the breathing mask and Naruto rushed forward. Sasuke move his fingers in careful hand-seals. It was an old technique, useful for mothers to know when their kids did a hundred too many fireball jutsu and ash built-up in their lungs. But this was a severe case and Sasuke didn't know if it would work.

Sasuke gripped his cousin's jaw and forced open his mouth. Then Sasuke dived down and enveloped his mouth with all the urgency of a lifeguard.

Sasuke snapped up and spit a wad of ash on the hospital floor. He did the technique twice and was getting frustrated on the third attempt. But this time when he lifted, a huge gasp sucked in air.

Sasuke moved away from the flailing arms and Naruto jumped to occupy Sasuke's space.

"Naruto!" The boy wept as Naruto caught the boy up in his arms. "I failed. I failed in Ame."

"Enough," Naruto said with a softness that was a complete and total flip from the man that had confronted Sasuke in the cell. "You're home. You're safe."

"The ash is out but he still burned the inside of his lungs. It hurts for him to breathe and even more to talk. He shouldn't be doing a lot of that." As an Uchiha, there weren't many injuries he hasn't seen when it comes to a fire jutsu. "It'll take months to recover."

"Naruto, it's…" the boy's throat constricted in panic.

"Rest," Naruto ordered gently, then created two shadow clones. One, to retrieve Sakura and the other to take Sasuke back to his cell.

Sasuke sneered. "This never would have happened if he could do a fire jutsu like a proper Uchiha." Then Sasuke paused, realizing he heard a little of his Father in his voice.

Tomu fought against Naruto to raise himself up and with all the strength that he could muster, Tomu declared, "I am Tomu _Uzumaki_."

Sasuke scowled at the poor boy's misinformed and deluded way of thinking. "The moment you activated-" Naruto's shadow clone roughly grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and transported Sasuke back to the cell, dumped him there, locked him back up, and disappeared.

"Tsk." Sasuke flinched at the nightmare of Ino's voice. "You saved him. What a shame."

Sasuke turned his head in an effort to ignore her.

"Usually I break people and it take months to snap back but the moment Naruto whisked himself into this cell, you responded." Ino mused curiously. "Your mind might be messed up but it's resilient."

"I wonder what Naruto is going to do next? He's still unpredictable, that one."

* * *

Sasuke didn't know how long he was locked up in the cell but Ino did not return to bother him. Naruto kept his promise with that at least. But it gave Sasuke a lot of empty time to think.

He didn't know what he would do if he managed to escape. Even though he still thought of Naruto as a different person from Iraiya, Sasuke honestly didn't want to find out if his inability to kill the latter transferred to the former. He was afraid of what that would mean.

Second, Sasuke admitted his anger sometimes took precedence over all his other emotions but after a long time of consideration, he refused to be Danzou. His only living relative was only just a boy with soft hands and informal training. Sasuke could never bring himself to take the boy's sharingan and immediately felt ashamed that he had come close to doing it. He's lived three years without his eyesight and he wasn't any lesser because of it.

Sasuke didn't need the sharigan.

It took him this long to finally realize it.

Sasuke looked up when the door opened and several people filed into the room. Sasuke wondered if this was it. When he was unlocked from his chains, Sasuke experienced a sudden moment of clarity. His desperate need to survive was encouraged by a need to delay the inevitable meeting with his ghosts in the afterlife.

The Uchiha Clan wouldn't be proud of him. Not his father, not his mother, and not Itachi.

But Sasuke raised his head as the group of men marched him out of the cell. Perhaps he's lost the sharigan, and more often than not lost his way, but he refused to lose his pride.

Then Sasuke's prideful expression grew confused when he was ushered into a room. He was forced onto a table and his hands and wrists locked into bindings. What kind of execution was this?

A needle pricked into his neck. In the next second he felt sluggish and collapsed back into the darkness.

* * *

Sasuke moaned as he lifted from unconsciousness. He still felt languid and knew it was a result of whatever drugs they put in his system. He was surprised when he pressed his hands underneath him and found himself resting against the cushions of the couch.

Sasuke inhaled the distinctive scent of wood taken from the forests of Fire Country. It's been years, but Sasuke immediately recognized that he was in the Kage's office. Sasuke pulled himself up and frowned when there was an itchy weight across his eyes. Sasuke lifted and tore away what felt like gauze.

"If I were you, I'd open my eyes slowly."

"What the fu-" Sasuke had a heart attack, or at least what he thought felt like one. Sasuke _saw_ the outline of the Kage's hat standing shadowed at the window where the moonlight casted a bruised glow around Naruto's figure.

"I- I- you- you," Sasuke hyperventilated until the fact finally settled in his head that yes, he could see. Sasuke suddenly spat full of anger. "I never asked for this."

"Not my problem," Naruto deadpanned. "If being Hokage was entirely about what I wanted, you'd be dead. But some things are out of my control and you are more useful to Konoha with the ability to read. Besides, your insistence not to get eye surgery just because it isn't a sharigan is idiotic and stupid."

Sasuke paused. At the thought, he attempted to activate the sharigan but nothing happened.

Naruto scoffed, knowing what he had been attempting to do, as he moved from the window and collapsed into the Kage's chair.

Sasuke stared. Now that he had moved out of the shadows the moonlight finally reflected light onto Naruto's face. It was… different. Naruto had grown harder, older, and more mature. His hair was longer now, similar to his father's face in the rocks of the Kage's Mountain. But there was nothing that drew Sasuke's eye more than the scar on the right side of Naruto's face. As Sasuke approached further he realized it was more a discoloration and less of a scar that clawed down from Naruto's cheek and further down his neck.

"It's a burn," Sasuke whispered with sudden fascination. He had never seen a burn like that in all his life.

"Everyone's always curious about the scar," Naruto remarked snidely and added, "Take one step closer and I'll blow you up."

Sasuke stopped, not even realizing his feet had drawn him forward. Now he was only two paces away from the desk.

"I've added a seal to your shoulder. If you ever leave Konoha or I'm just having a bad day I can easily activate the seal to kill you whenever I want."

It wasn't the only seal Sasuke noticed that had been added to his body. Sasuke gave a perverse look at the feel of his pants. He peeked inside and realized he had been shaved so that another seal could be applied to his pelvis.

"Standard procedure for international criminals," Naruto huffed.

Sasuke looked up and once again was drawn toward the burn. His mind raced with possibilities. What type of fire jutsu was powerful enough to scar a jinchuuruki? He's literally seen Naruto heal flawless after the Kyuubi's chakra burned his skin off.

"You were burned alive," Sasuke said immediately. "Judging by the angle the explosion was outward so a bomb of some sort? But it's on the right side against your cheek, angled upwards. A suicide bomb… but for you to be so close and that angle… it was a child. You were hugging a child. And it blew up in your face."

Naruto sucked in a sharp breath. There were still rumors and outlandish stories circling around Konoha on how he had come by his scar. No one knew the exact details but for Tsunade. Sasuke, freaking Sasuke, had figured it out in five minutes.

Sasuke leaned back on his heels, gave Naruto a once over, and finally said, "It changed you."

"A lot of things have changed me." Naruto replied steely.

"Why haven't you killed me?"

Sasuke could see Naruto was deliberating with how much he should say. Then Naruto narrowed his eyes, those crystal blue irises gleaming dangerously in the night. "Because when that shadow clone released itself, I realized," Naruto struggled to say the words, "that I needed you. Momochi saw Tomu's sharingan at the dam. Tomu is supposed to be a secret but in a few months the world will know that he exists. He's not strong enough to protect himself if he becomes an international target. Kakashi is dead and there is no one else left alive who can teach him how to use his sharingan."

Somehow, that's not where Sasuke thought Naruto was going. He oddly felt disappointed. "And what if I decide to rip them out instead?"

"You won't get very far," Naruto promised. "As the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure, I hereby sentence you to life in ANBU. Under my supervision, you will train Tomu when he is finally admitted out of the hospital. In regards to other duties, I am placing you under Captain Tiger's purview."

A knot tensed in Sasuke's chest when Naruto placed a mask atop the desk. Sasuke had to touch it to make sure it was real. Sasuke's breath hitched when his hand explored the smooth surface, the indentations, and shape of the ANBU Mask:

Crow.

Itachi's old ANBU mask.

Itachi had massacred the clan in this mask.

"It's either this or I give you to Ino instead." Sasuke couldn't keep himself from shuddering at the threat. Never in his life would he imagine the day he was afraid of Ino.

"Understand this, the moment you put on this mask you offer your clan, your name, and your pride in sacrifice to the safety of the village. You will no longer be Uchiha Sasuke."

His clan, his name, and his pride was all that Sasuke had left. It would take more than a mask to wrench that away from him. Still, it was better than the hell Ino offered.

"I understand," Sasuke answered.

"Repeat after me," Naruto instructed, "We are the shadows that the trees cast."

Sasuke didn't need to repeat. He focused as he attempted to remember the words that Itachi often repeated in rare times of stress, "I am the shadows that the trees cast, the blood spilled from our enemies, the fear known in the dark, the stench of death about a rotting corpse, and the secrets of Konoha."

Sasuke didn't flinch when he felt a sudden burning pain on his shoulder, as if it was burrowing underneath his skin and inscribing deep onto his bones.

Sasuke held the mask reverent in his hands. Itachi's blood was bled into this mask. Sasuke fitted the mask to his face and became a shadow.

"Welcome home, Crow."

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**His clan, his name, and his pride was all that Sasuke had left. It would take more than a mask to wrench that away from him.** _

* * *

 


	7. The Mentally Insane Crazy Crow of ANBU

"There have been a few changes since you left Konoha. Most notably, eight years ago I bought the Uchiha compound."

"What?!"

Naruto leaned back in his chair and said unflinchingly, "My family and I call it home. It is now known as the Uzumaki compound."

Sasuke snapped in sudden anger, grabbed the closest thing he could find, and pointed the sharp edge of a picture frame toward Naruto's throat. Before the edge cut across skin, a gust of wind, and Sasuke went barreling back across the office. He coughed blood from the violent pain that had impacted his chest.

As Sasuke scrambled back onto his feet, he caught a glimpse of Naruto waving off the ANBU who were watching the office from outside the window. Naruto leaned his elbow against the desk and drew a thoughtful expression as his gaze lingered on the picture Sasuke had disturbed. The Kage didn't even bother to be wary of Sasuke's rising offensive stance.

"I fixed its broken windows, I repaired its rotting wood, and I founded an orphanage within its walls." Naruto looked up at Sasuke with steel blue eyes. "I am not my shadow clone and I will not tolerate your temper tantrums. _You_ abandoned the Uchiha compound when you abandoned Konoha. I did nothing but make it a home again."

"It is not your home," Sasuke seethed.

"It certainly isn't yours," Naruto snapped. Then Naruto informed Sasuke, as if the fact had been conveniently forgotten, "ANBU is your home now."

Sasuke peeled off the mask and threw it at Naruto. It ricocheted off the window. Then pain flared from the ANBU seal on Sasuke's shoulder and it spread through him like rampant fire in his blood. When it stopped, Sasuke gasped aching.

"You're lucky the Akimichi hadn't bought the property and turned it into a restaurant. The Hyuuga would have bought it just to see it torn down." Naruto threw back the mask. It hit Sasuke in the head with a hiss.

Sasuke stared blankly at the mask that stared at him from the floor. "I want to see it," Sasuke said softly. "I need to see it."

"No," Naruto said with one word like a wall that had been dropped to stand between them.

Sasuke slumped to his knees as the strength he used to maintain his false bravado and pride petered out. Sasuke hung his head, never feeling more keenly than now that he was no longer Naruto's equal. Naruto had surpassed him a long time ago. There was no point pretending anymore.

"Please," Sasuke whispered hoarsely. "I _need_ to see it."

For a brief moment, there was a softness that melted into Naruto's expression before it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"I guess it's inevitable," Naruto conceded.

Sasuke looked up as Naruto stood before him. To Sasuke, power was the number of jutsu in your arsenal and the ability to use that jutsu for vengeance but bowed in the Kage's office of Konoha, Sasuke admitted that power could be defined in the way Naruto's presence took up the room, or the way Naruto loomed over him as the heads of the Kage's loomed over Konoha. There was power, more than just physical, in the Naruto that stood before him.

Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Naruto knew what was coming, but it still didn't prepare him for the stomach toss and the ill feeling that came afterwards. Sasuke caught his breath on the teleportation jutsu.

Then still on his knees, he looked up bowed before the walls of his childhood. Those walls had kept everyone out… and everything in.

Sasuke lifted his weight and brought himself to stand. A chill wind of coming winter greeted him.

Sasuke didn't realize his feet had drawn him to the spiral emblem painted atop the door until it was too late. The walls had been repaired. The places where he had often hacked away at them in anger were replaced with fresh wood. Feeling faint, he reached out his hand to re-orient himself before his legs fainted underneath him. Then Sasuke stilled. His could feel the Uchiha Clan symbol etched underneath the paint. His fingers traced the edges of a fan he could now only see when he closed his eyes.

And suddenly, the blood red eyes of Itachi stood over him, " _When you have eyes like mine…_ "

The wind cut across his skin as sharp as the chill of that night. Sasuke pulled his hand away and watched as the red paint spilled and stuck to his hands, bleeding down his arms.

His shoulders heaved.

He couldn't breathe. His throat constricted on every frantic search for breath.

The wind battered against him until he lost his anchor to this time and place.

"Sasuke, stay with me." Naruto's tanned hand enclosed around Sasuke's and gently pulled it away from the gate. The warmth of Naruto's hand spread like the protection of a campfire. "You don't have to do this."

Eleven years later, without vengeance to shield him, Sasuke was attacked by a horde of emotions that crushed the desperate control he had crafted to survive.

* * *

Sasuke hung his head as he clung to a corner of the couch in the Kage's office. The distant scratch of writing gradually became louder when the numbness in his limbs began to wear off. Sasuke darkly looked up and watched Naruto at his desk, scratching a pen across a sheet of paper.

As if Naruto knew Sasuke's eyes were suddenly on him, Naruto said nonchalantly, "Panic attacks aren't anything to be ashamed of. It happens."

Sasuke sneered and drew into a permanent frown as he leaned over his legs. "You know nothing. You'll never know." Then in sharpened anger, Sasuke whispered harshly. "It doesn't leave."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long time. Sasuke stubbornly refused to meet that gaze. Naruto finally said, more to himself, "You're not the same."

"I didn't ask to live," Sasuke said as he narrowed his eyes and buried his chin in his arms. "I didn't ask you to fix me."

Naruto scoffed. "I gave up on that a long time ago."

Naruto's face was cast in shadow as he turned toward the window and looked over Konoha. "I've learned that you can't _fix_ a person. You only learn to live with the empty spaces and jagged edges. Sasuke, put on that damn mask, grab this katana, and learn which pieces you want to live with."

Sasuke stared at the mask on the floor. Then he reached down and slapped it on his face. He needed to get out of this office and away from Naruto's stifling presence. He needed to be alone and brood in his own silence.

Naruto placed Zatoichi atop the desk. Sasuke reached and grabbed the physical evidence of what remained of Ame.

Naruto pulled out a summoning scroll with the kanji of different animals written across it.

"Hokage-sama," a sudden Captain greeted when Naruto placed chakra into the kanji for Tiger.

"I invoke code 43 of the article ANBU," Naruto said. "I place him under your supervision."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Captain Tiger bowed. Immediately, Sasuke noted the impressive blade at the man's hip, a kenjutsu user, Sasuke determined. The Captain made only one slight motion to Sasuke. Sasuke took one last look at Naruto who tossed the report he had been working on in a pile and then dropped his head immediately atop the desk to get a few hours of sleep before sunrise.

Sasuke trailed behind Captain Tiger toward the ANBU entrance that connected to the Hokage's Tower. It was the first time in Sasuke's life he had ever been to this part of Konoha. The passage descended deeper and deeper until roots brushed past Sasuke's face.

"Remember your way. I will only show you once," Captain Tiger warned. Sasuke quickly kept pace as they sped through a tour of the sparring grounds which were Sasukeded even at this late hour, the storage rooms, the most important entrances and exits, the ANBU medical wing for injuries, the mess hall, and finally the living quarters.

"Meet me in exactly twenty-four hours in the training room," Captain Tiger commanded and left Sasuke staring at the door with the symbol of a Sasuke etched into the wood.

The room was filled with dust and smelled as if no one has occupied this space for some time. This had once been Itachi's room. Sasuke finally stepped through the threshold.

Sasuke placed his katana onto the sword stand. He sat the mask down onto the desk and frowned when the dust seem to rush his skin. He immediately went in search of cleaning supplies. He stepped into the bathroom but stopped when he passed the mirror.

Sasuke stared at the man standing in front of him. There were faint scars on his face of which he hardly remembered where they came from. Sasuke had long gotten used to the feel of hair along his jaw but seeing himself with a thin messy beard was a different shock. His hair was a matted mess and threatened to grow to obscene lengths again. At the very tips there was still a hint of color from where Iraiya had dyed his hair in Ame – a bright loud orange.

But it was the eyes that rattled him the most.

His black iris were now brown. He stared at himself in the mirror with bright honey-brown eyes.

Glass shattered over the sink. Blood ran down Sasuke's arm. The mirror was now scattered about the bathroom in broken pieces. Sasuke reveled in the pain as he clutched the counter and watched his knuckles turn white.

He breathed, one breath at a time.

Then he ripped the cabinets open for cleaning supplies but found nothing in the bathroom. He searched through his room and stilled when he opened a cabinet and found a shelf filled with dusty bottles of alcohol.

Sasuke reached for whichever bottle had the highest concentration of ethanol and pressed the large bottle of vodka to his lips. It stung his throat as it went down. But he was tired of these damn emotions that kept assaulting him the moment he returned to Konoha.

* * *

Sasuke looked up through the foggy haze of his newly acquired vision as the door to his room slammed open. The smell of vomit congested in his nose. He winced when the light snapped on to reveal a broken toenail in his direct line of sight. Sasuke could barely lift his head from the empty bottle of alcohol he was using as a pillow.

"You were supposed to meet me in the training rooms," Captain Tiger's voice crashed against Sasuke's aching head.

"Fuck off," Sasuke moaned as he turned over in a lazy attempt to add distance between him and the Captain. Then the Captain one-handedly grabbed Sasuke, slapped the mask onto Sasuke's face, and dragged him out of the room.

"Let go of me," Sasuke grumbled but he was too hungover to really care. Suddenly, he cared more about throwing up in his mask than being dragged through ANBU hallways.

Then Sasuke whipped up his head when they entered the training area. Tiger Captain sent a visible gust of wind throughout the training room and everyone stopped. Suddenly all eyes were on Sasuke as he was dragged to the middle of the training room.

The Captain dropped a knife that rang and clattered into Sasuke's lap. "This agent has refused a direct order from a superior officer and now has to face the consequences. Who can tell me which finger is most important for kenjutsu?"

"The pinky finger, sir," someone answered.

The Captain stared down at Sasuke and both unyielding masks clashed in stubbornness. Then the Captain ordered, "Cut off your pinky finger."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Sasuke spat. Sasuke wobbled to his feet and wafted the knife in challenge. With every errant motion, the hundreds of ANBU surrounding them tensed every time the knife drew close to the Captain's face. Sasuke sneered, "I can kill you with my pinky finger."

Un-intimidated, the Captain crossed his arms. "I do not ask twice."

Sasuke formed words around his awkward slur, "Do you know who I am?"

"The punk who's about to be less a finger," Tiger answered.

"I am Uch-" Sasuke's words were interrupted by the rapt blow to his abdomen, then an elbow against the back of his head that sent him plummeting to the ground. Sasuke groaned and rested his head against the ground because it felt better here.

Sasuke's arm was jerked up, wrenched forward, and a katana sliced passed his ear. Sasuke stared, frozen in shock, at the sight of the top joint of his pinky finger land unattached to the floor.

"Second time it's your dick. Third time it's your head. Don't be late again."

Sasuke stared, disbelieving, and the world revolved and twisted around him like some surreal nightmare. Four fingers on his right hand. He needed that hand for seals. He needed that hand to hold a sword. Sasuke's fists clenched clenched as a fire erupted behind his eyes.

He shot to his feet with a blood-thirst but when he turned in search of Captain Tiger, he was already gone.

Coward.

The hundred ANBU stood watching as he stumbled from the training room. Sasuke sneered as he clenched the blood dripping between his fingers.

* * *

The doors of the Kage's office slammed open as ANBU Sasuke stormed inside, completely frightening the genin team reporting in to Naruto's office. The moment Sasuke stepped inside, he sunk to his knees, paralyzed by the biting pain from the tattoo on his shoulder.

"Continue." Naruto nodded respectfully to the genin team and allowed them to finish their report before dismissing them from his office. The genin gave Sasuke a wide-berth as they quickly rushed out the door.

"Yes?" Naruto asked exasperated as he finally released Sasuke.

"That motherfucker cut off my finger."

"The first day?" Naruto's face crawled into an amused smile. "That's got to be a record. Be careful though, I've seen him cut off people's dicks too."

"I hate you," Sasuke snapped at Naruto's almost gleeful tone. His finger was still bleeding and dripped a stain into the carpet.

"Mutual," Naruto responded. "Crow, it's simple. Just do as you're told. It's not as hard as you're making it out to be. Let's practice," then Naruto grew straight serious, "Get out."

Sasuke sucked in a trembling breath and could see his rage was wasted on Naruto who literally did not care. Sasuke turned on his heels and stormed out.

"And Crow!" Naruto called after him. "No more barging into my office. You're not one of my kids."

* * *

Sasuke stared at the clock until it felt as if he was bleeding behind his irises. He hadn't known how to find Captain Tiger but he knew where he would be in five more minutes.

Sasuke lips stretched into a twitching smile when the alarm chimed. It was time for sparring practice. This time he wasn't going to be late.

Sasuke stalked down the hallway. Other ANBU gave him a wide berth and stayed clear of him. Sasuke clenched his teeth with a desperate need to gorge himself on vengeance. Tiger Captain had made him a laughingstock in an organization where his elder brother had been feared.

Sasuke barged into the training area and ignored the looks he received until he stopped in front of Captain Tiger meditating in the middle of the room. Sasuke was about to open his mouth when Tiger rose to his feet.

"This will be a kenjutsu match only. No ninjutsu or any other techniques."

In reply, Sasuke unsheathed his sword with his left hand. He was just as proficient with his left as he had been with his right. Sasuke smirked in anticipation at the promised kill.

Sasuk blinked when the Captain unexpectedly attacked first and moved far faster than Sasuke anticipated. Sasuke was forced on the defensive. The white cloak flickered distracting in and out of his line of vision. Sasuke felt overwhelmed as he barely kept the edge of the Captain's sword at bay.

Sasuke twisted and jumped back to gain some distance. Something was wrong. Something was different.

Then it occurred to Sasuke exactly why the fight felt too chaotic and out of his control.

Sasuke closed his eyes. He focused on the subtle shifts of movement, the smell of dirt and roots that clung to the Captain's cloak, and the electric touch in the air when their swords clashed. Finally, Sasuke could dance to this song.

A mad grin formed on Sasuke's face when he couldn't find any holes in the Captain's defenses or trick him into letting them down. They were evenly matched. There was an excited fire that danced in Sasuke's veins to finally meet someone who could challenge him. He doubted the Captain could beat him with ninjutsu but with kenjutsu at least, he was being pushed and tested.

And suddenly just like that, Sasuke forgave his missing finger. A finger was a finger but finding someone who could push him like this was momentous.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked when their sword points stilled in a draw. Sasuke's sword had stopped inches before the Captain's neck but he keenly felt the Captain sword pressed against his chest. The match had stopped the entire room, ANBU stilled, frozen in shock that someone could match the resident ANBU kenjutsu master.

"I am no one," Captain Tiger responded, then pulled away and sheathed his sword. "I haven't met someone better than me in a long time. But a starving man does not make a sturdy fighter. You could have won this match if you were at your best."

Sasuke sheathed his sword and consented to the truth of the Captain's words. He had tried to get something for lunch from the mess hall but one look at the missing joint on his hand and the staff had refused him food.

The Captain held out his hand in the seal of reconciliation. Sasuke reached out with his right hand, those four fingers easily forgotten, and Sasuke returned the gesture.

"You've trained under that fool Mifune?"

Sasuke was impressed that the Captain has picked up on Mifune's influence. Sasuke nodded. "A short while."

"And Orochimaru? Man always favored an amalgamation of different styles but had a preference for quick strikes that left his opponent bleeding out and suffering."

Sasuke stilled at the sudden name. The memories that Ino tore from him were still fresh. "You knew them?"

The Captain shrugged, as if name-dropping two notorious enemies of Konoha were not a big deal. "Mifune and I met on many a battlefield back in the day."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the news. The last time Iron Country was embroiled in a war was way back during the Second Shinobi War. This guy was older than he moved.

"And I trained Orochimaru in kenjutsu."

A chill froze up Sasuke's spine. Sasuke's breathing hitched. Suddenly it was wrenched from his throat. Oh kami, there were hundreds of people watching. Sasuke struggled to press his mask against his face but it was obvious from the shake of his shoulders that he was crying.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

Sasuke attempted to will himself from further shaming his brother's mask but he couldn't as the truth sunk further and further into his chest. This man had trained Orochimaru in kenjutsu.

He was an idiot – a stupid foolish and disillusioned idiot to believe that the power he had wanted could only be found outside of Konoha.

Orochimaru hadn't been the only way.

And suddenly all of Sasuke's excuses and all the lies he told himself meant nothing. He had sundered his bond with Naruto at the Valley of the End for nothing. He had abandoned the Uchiha compound for nothing. He had let Orochimaru… for nothing.

Sasuke broke, hard.

Audible sobs left Sasuke's lips. All of the what-ifs, the maybes, and the roads not traveled were crushing him underneath their weight.

Finally, it was Captain Tiger who saved him with a steady hand on his back that led him out of the training area. They paused in the hallway. By this time Sasuke had stopped crying, just staring, unseeing into his life of bad choices.

"You also taught Itachi," Sasuke said hoarsely.

Captain Tiger nodded slowly, keeping an undisguised disgusted distance, like a man who didn't know what to do with children.

If Sasuke had just been patient… like Kakashi had told him. Sasuke could have stayed in Konoha, became chuunin, eventually joined ANBU and could have learned from Itachi's former teacher. He could have been equipped with the ability to defeat Itachi… no, in ANBU he would have had access to the truth of the massacre… he would have never allowed Itachi to trick him into killing him. He could have saved Itachi.

 _Oh kami. Oh kami. Oh kami_.

Sasuke looked up at Captain Tiger in wide-eyed horror as he considered the price he has paid for the paths he's walked.

He _needed_ a shower.

Sasuke ran, as if nightmares were chasing after him, until he fell headfirst into his shower. He wrenched the water on and only belatedly realized he still had on all of his clothes. He scrubbed at his arms, frantically in an attempt to scrape Itachi's blood off his skin.

* * *

Never in Sasuke's life has he slept for more than six hours but he woke up thirteen hours later. The shower was still on. He hadn't managed to make it to the bed and had fallen asleep naked on the bathroom floor. He still felt raw as if the wound had been torn into him mere minutes ago. Sasuke finally screeched the shower off, he stumbled into the bedroom, and narrowed his eyes on the note left on his open door.

It was a message from Captain Tiger to meet him at a different time and different place for their next spar. Sasuke looked over at the clock and realized he only had half an hour. He quickly got dressed and attempted to regain some semblance of control. Thankfully he was wearing a mask to hide the reverberations from his pathetic breakdown in front of all of ANBU.

Sasuke straightened his shoulders and found that the coordinates led him to a door. Sasuke knocked and stepped into what he assumed was Captain Tiger's office. Captain Tiger was eating a bowl of udon with a second bowl seated before the empty chair across from him. In the middle was a shogi board, the pieces already set-up, waiting for someone to play.

"I thought we were sparring."

"It was just a time and place." Captain Tiger reached forward and moved the first piece across the shogi board.

Tiger didn't have to say the words for Sasuke to figure out what he was expected to do. Sasuke slowly moved forward and sat down in the seat.

"You're a pathetic mess," Tiger Captain said.

Sasuke didn't disagree.

"And I should have asked the Kage to reassign you to a different division because anyone can see you're nothing but a liability. Agents like you end up dead from overdose on alcohol or drugs by the end of the year. Someone like you is just a waste of my time."

Sasuke hung his head. "Perhaps found dead after choking on my own vomit is what I deserve."

Sasuke snapped up when Tiger shoved the desk angrily into his chest. "I can tell a lot about a man from the way they handle a sword. Shit kid, Orochimaru, Mifune, Itachi, and the countless other influences in your sword arm… you are currently the most skilled swordsmen alive. And it's not just skill, you're smart, you're focused, you don't respect much but you respect kenjutsu… and you," Tiger shook his head angrily. "You could be so much more than the mess you are right now."

Sasuke slowly shook his head. "I can never be as good as Itachi."

"In kenjutsu, you've surpassed Itachi." Captain Tiger said with the solid weight of a fact.

"You're wrong."

Captain Tiger sighed. He was no god damn therapist. "It's your turn." Sasuke glanced down at the board and tentatively pushed forward a piece. "And eat something. You look like you haven't eaten in two days."

That was pretty accurate. Sasuke took off his mask. He couldn't stop his hand from shaking as he picked up the pair of chopsticks. They clattered together as loud as the generator in Ame's dam.

"You're supposed to henge your face before you take off your mask."

Sasuke paused. Well, it was too late now. Sasuke shoveled the noodles in his mouth and asked, "Did you supervise my brother when he… massacred the clan?"

It was against the rules to discuss past agents, but after a lifetime in ANBU, Tiger had earned the power to bend them. "Yes, I was his supervising officer but Itachi had acted independently. The Kage and I were still devising options when Itachi made his move. Itachi Uchiha was a traitor."

The chair toppled over from the speed in which Sasuke stood. "What?"

Captain Tiger was not intimidated by the faint and pale man in front of him. "Uchiha Itachi acted without the consent of his supervising officer. Even if Danzou had interfered, by definition, Itachi had committed treason. Danzou's deal wasn't the only option Itachi could have taken. I _gave_ him other options," Tiger snapped furiously. "But Itachi wouldn't listen because he thought he knew best, was too impatient, and too heartbroken over his dead lover to see that Danzou was using him."

"I… what?" Sasuke wanted to argue but he was suddenly confused. "Lover?"

"A lot of ninja use ANBU to hide secret trysts," Tiger shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Itachi didn't have a lover," Sasuke argued.

Captain Tiger's henge gave Sasuke a side-eyed expression. "Itachi was in my division but his boyfriend was with the hunter-nins. I had to go half-way across fucking ANBU underground to find him when I needed him."

"You're wrong." Sasuke insisted once again. Itachi was Uchiha heir. He was the eldest. Itachi couldn't have a boyfriend.

"Get out of my office until you're actually willing to listen what I've got to say."

Sasuke got up and then sat down. He had already gathered enough context clues and knew enough about Itachi to have made an educated guess. Now, older and a little more experienced, he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. He said in awe, "Itachi and Shisui were lovers?"

Captain Tiger reached over, impatient, and moved one of Sasuke's pieces for him. Sasuke glanced down at the horrible move and immediately moved back the piece and moved another more to his advantage.

"Itachi was brilliant and a prodigy as people rightfully called him but when he came to ANBU he was _young_ and ANBU is tough even on the veterans. From what I understood Shisui was older and had already been in ANBU. He took Itachi under his wing. When Shisui died, Itachi was devastated. Itachi was afraid and he was stressed and I wish I saw it sooner that he was going to crack."

The Captain made a forward move and challenged, "Tell me, what would you have done? The clan or the village?"

Sasuke opened his mouth and then closed it. As a child he would have done anything to appease his father. He knew if he had been only a little older, Fugaku would have pit him against Itachi.

"The clan," Sasuke whispered.

"That's the fucking problem. I gave you two options but that doesn't mean there were only two options. Sometimes it's hard for people stuck between a rock and a hard place to realize that."

"So what are you saying? That all of this could have been avoided? That Itachi made an emotionally charged and bad decision? That Itachi fucked up?"

Captain Tiger gave Sasuke a stare and let him decide the answer on his own.

Sasuke scowled at his conclusion. "No. Itachi was a hero. He sacrificed everything for the village. You can't take that away from him."

Sasuke realized he hit a sore spot when the Captain raised his hand, jostled Sasuke forward into the desk and disrupted the pieces on the board.

"Your brother isn't the only one who has sacrificed for this village. Every man, woman, and child who puts on that hitai-ite has sacrificed for this village. What the fuck do you want? For Konoha to raise a shrine in honor to your dead brother and name a holiday after him for doing his damn duty? We all sacrifice."

The Captain released him with a sneer.

"I lost my entire family," Sasuke mumbled bitterly as if his meant more.

"You're hardly the only one." The Captain said flippantly as he tossed the plastic bowl behind him and it fell unseeing into the trashcan. "It's time to quit crying over the past and come to terms with today. Have you even stopped to consider what life in ANBU means?"

"I-" Sasuke hadn't a clue.

"It means you will never again leave Konoha for any other reason but a mission. It means you will never have a wife or children. It means no one will ever call you by your name ever again. It means you will watch friends grow old without the ability to participate in their lives. It might take you two or five years to fully comprehend that everything you are has been stripped from you. Sasuke Uchiha does not exist anymore. Now henge your fucking face."

* * *

Sasuke reported to Captain Tiger's office for his first mission assignment in ANBU. Captain Tiger nodded approvingly when Sasuke was five minutes early. Sasuke scoffed as he hung his hands in his pockets.

It's been a long day but Sasuke has managed to keep himself functioning by exercising for the last twenty four hours.

"When you are in the presence of a superior officer, you are supposed to be at attention at all times," Captain Tiger reprimanded.

Sasuke sighed with a sneer. Sasuke pulled his hands out of his pockets and stood at attention. He acknowledged with a lazy, "Captain."

"Each division in ANBU has a different specialty. My division assesses potential threats inside of Konoha. This is your first mission."

Sasuke looked down confused when Captain Tiger lifted a large folder entitled, 'Uchiha Itachi.'

"After our conversation the other day I have decided to re-open Itachi's case to evaluate if his name should or should not be added to Konoha's Memorial Stone. Your mission is to prove, with evidence, that Itachi was indeed a hero of Konoha."

Sasuke jaw slackened and received the files with his brother's name on it with care.

"My division sees the least amount of action compared to the others but what we do is just as important. More often than not this division requires going through files, interviews, and piecing together information. For this mission, you will need reliable evidence, which means not just the opinions of an international criminal. If you have any questions, don't ask me. Figure it out. I only want to see you again when you have completed your mission."

Sasuke nodded but the Captain still had a few more words. "The past is the past kid. I hopes this helps you to bury it. Always remember, you are no longer the person you were before you put on that mask. You are dismissed."

* * *

Sasuke had never been as focused or obsessed on one pursuit since his vengeance against Itachi. Oddly enough, it was Itachi who had once again inspired it. Sasuke pulled at his face after hours of going through the paperwork of all of Itachi's missions. Sasuke had read the details of Itachi's fifty-three D ranks, one hundred and fifty two C-ranks, one hundred and thirty-four B-rank, and one S-rank. But there was suddenly an empty record during the period in which Itachi was in ANBU.

Sasuke scratched his head. He needed access to Itachi's ANBU record which were undoubtedly locked away within the S-class library of Konoha. Sasuke eyes drifted toward the ANBU handbook, flipped through the pages and could have hit his head when he learned that ANBU in Captain Tiger's division had access to all S-class materials pertaining to their current mission.

Sasuke made his way to the vaults, which were also guarded at all times by an entire squad of ANBU from Tiger's division. He displayed the mission report and the Captain's signature to the guards.

"I need everything related to Uchiha Itachi, Shimura Danzou, and the Uchiha Clan Massacre."

Sasuke watched as the leader of the guard nodded. Sasuke mindfully looked away when ANBU Ferret unlocked the seal to the vault and opened the door. Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of rows and rows of S-class information dating back all the way to the founding of the village. It put Orochimaru's library to shame and the Sannin himself had an impressive collection due to his pursuit of knowledge.

And then black beetles shuffled out the robes of ANBU Ferret and spread like a sea into the large library. Sasuke, admittedly impressed, watched as the chakra-draining Aburame beetles sped through scrolls and paperwork. He had never seen them used in such an administrative capacity before but it was effective as only fifteen minutes later an army of beetles were stacking scrolls and folders at Sasuke's feet. As the beetles did their work, ANBU Ferret was recording the number on every scroll, time, and date.

Sasuke had to gather everything into a storage scroll.

ANBU Ferret reached out his hand and once Ferret realized Sasuke was a newcomer to the library he explained, "Reward for their hard-work."

Once Sasuke was able to parse out the Aburame's cryptic sentence, Sasuke held out his arm and a sudden rush of beetles attacked his arm and drained a taste of his chakra. Sasuke immediately recognized the obvious agenda behind the feeding: if there was an information leak, they now had his chakra signature and they could find him, mask or not.

Sasuke felt faint when he rolled down his sleeve, bowed, and left as the vault doors closed behind him.

* * *

Sasuke didn't know what he would find when he opened Itachi's ANBU mission file but he didn't expect himself to feel… underwhelmed. He had been steeling himself to find horrible acts of atrocities that Konoha forced Itachi to do that might have twisted Itachi's psyche during his years in ANBU. But… Itachi was a genjutsu prodigy and his skills led Itachi into a career with the Torture and Interrogation division in ANBU. Only a few of Itachi's mission actually led him outside of Konoha and the Sasuke hadn't even been his first mask. In T&I, Itachi had lived a career of lies and manipulation. No one denied that Itachi was a prodigy, but whatever infamy Itachi had garnered, it started the day of the massacre.

It wasn't until Itachi's last year in ANBU did he unexpectedly switch to Tiger's division. Sasuke read the report in which Itachi had personally tipped off the Hokage about the current sentiments of the Uchiha Clan. Sasuke read the report when the Hokage assigned Itachi to spy on the Uchiha but none of it was helpful to Sasuke's current mission.

Once he was finished with Itachi, he turned to the pile on Danzo, which was three times as large. All of those atrocities that Sasuke expected to find, he found them in Danzou's work. He had never been so glad that he killed the guy.

Sasuke stilled when his eyes roamed over one of Danzou's hand-written notes. It was a letter to one of his underlings about an order to move forward with his plan for the Uchiha. It wasn't exactly the details between Danzou and Itachi's meeting, Sasuke knew Danzou was too smart for a physical record of that meeting to exist, but it did prove Danzou's motivation for wanting the Uchiha dead. It was something.

The hardest to read was the file on the Uchiha Clan massacre which contained the coroner's report of all the dead. Sasuke swallowed through the lumps in his throat and forced himself to finish the task. When he finished, Sasuke realized that wading through all of this paperwork had amounted to nothing but a hallowed hurt in his chest.

* * *

Sasuke knocked on the door of the Yamanaka compound. It certainly wasn't one of the largest compounds in Konoha but many would argue it was the most beautiful with the arrangement of flowers that decorated their gardens. Sasuke didn't see the point of knocking when he knew where the Yamanaka elder was, but evidently there was decorum to follow when an ANBU approached a compound.

The door opened and a young blonde girl peeked up at him. At first her eyes went wide as they searched Sasuke's hands.

"Black envelope?" The young Yamanaka whispered.

"No, I need to speak with Inoichi Yamanaka."

The girl visibly gave a sigh of relief, then opened the door, and cocked her head as if listening to something he couldn't hear. Then her eyes snapped back to the ANBU. "Follow me."

Sasuke admittedly had never been inside many compounds but his own, but the Yamanaka were unsettling. They passed groups of blonde hair in the kitchen cooking, a group of teenagers lounging over a couch watching a blurry grey and white movie, four knitting with only the sound of their clacking needles.

The Yamanaka were the quietest clan in Konoha. Which explained why they tended to be so loud outside of it as if they needed time to adjust the volume of their voices. Once Sasuke observed a quick eye glance, the flick of a hand, and a sudden laughter when no one had said anything, did Sasuke realize they were all communicating telepathically.

"Impressive," the little girl suddenly said. "It usually takes a while for visitors to realize what we're doing."

Sasuke frowned when she responded to his thoughts as casually as responding to a dinner conversation.

"No one's thoughts are private in the Yamanaka Compound." The girl said as they walked up several flights of stairs and Sasuke entered a small greenhouse.

Both Inoichi and Ino were hunched over a game of shogi. But the game was played as much in their heads as it was on the board. The young Yamanaka bowed and dismissed herself.

"Yamanaka Inoichi, sir, I need to ask you a few questions."

Inoichi motioned to a chair behind him just as Ino whipped out her hand and moved a tile. Ino gave a smug look.

Sasuke pulled up a chair and shifted in discomfort and Ino's proximity. She gave him a wicked grin.

"You were once the ANBU Captain over T&I?" Sasuke asked. No one but the Hokage had access to identities of those within ANBU but the information shifted to A-class once they retired.

"I was," Inoichi answered.

"Could you tell me about the ANBU agent Weasel? He was the last agent under your term who wore the mask."

Inoichi's eyes went up in recognition. Ino's hand stopped over a tile, suddenly distracted by Inoichi's thoughts.

"He was a good agent. He came to me rather young but he had a drive that outmatched my most veterans. I'm sure you know how the Uchiha can be. Few can match their focus and drive when set to a single cause."

"And what was Itachi's cause?" Sasuke asked, abandoning all pretense of double-talk and hidden meanings.

"He wanted peace. He'd do anything, break anyone, and get whatever piece of information we needed if it could prevent a war."

Sasuke's heard of this before. Others have described his brother as a pacifist before. But now it was time to dig deeper. "Why?"

"I was his supervisor, not his psychologist."

"The psychologist assigned to him in ANBU is dead," Sasuke said but he didn't need to tell a Yamanaka that. After digging up the files, Itachi's psychologist had been a Yamanaka who died in the Fifth Shinobi War.

"You're telling me that you did not study the minds of all your agents that worked under you?" Sasuke asked. "Your daughter certainly would."

"It is also illegal and an abuse of power," Inoichi said nonchalantly.

Sasuke sat down the pen and paper he was using to record the interview. Because it was illegal, Sasuke knew full well that whatever Inoichi said from here on could not be used as evidence.

"What drove Itachi to his cause?" It was something Sasuke had never really understood about his brother.

"Itachi was young when the Third Shinobi War broke out. The Fifth Shinobi War was bad but the Third…" Inoichi sucked in his teeth. "It was an unprecedented war of attrition, children right out of the academy was thrust onto the battlefield… and the Uchiha, because they are often Konoha's front-line fighters, Konoha lost a lot of Uchiha in that war. From what I understand it decimated the entire clan to a third of its size. And those numbers are just those who died. Among those who survived… many didn't come back from the war the same… not just the Uchiha."

Inoichi paused and Sasuke didn't understand why. Ino reached over and took her dad's hand. It was the first time he'd seen such softness in Ino as she pressed her father's hand to her lips. "Mom didn't come back the same either," Ino whispered. "Alcohol killed her."

"The war killed her," Inoichi said in finality, then lifted his shoulders, and turned to Sasuke. "You will never truly understand your brother because you were raised in a time of peace when things such as a hitai-ite are easily taken for granted. Your brother was marked by that war, as all those who survived it."

Sasuke bristled at Inoichi's claim that he would never understand Itachi, but slowly he was beginning to see that he's not entirely incorrect. "And someone like Itachi would do anything to prevent another war, even if that meant massacring his entire clan?"

Inoichi shrugged. "Or to prevent his little brother from having to experience war like he did."

Sasuke lingered on his thoughts, then looked up at Inoichi and asked, "Do you think Uchiha Itachi was a hero?"

Inoichi paused, sat in thought for several minutes, and then finally replied, "He certainly didn't think himself as one. There was this one time when he came back from a failed mission. He wasn't even the squad leader but he was the type of person to place all the blame on his shoulders even if the blame wasn't his to bear."

Sasuke nodded and stood up. The conversation didn't give him much but it did give him a better understanding of who his brother was.

"Wait," Ino said suddenly. "The Yamanaka hears everything in Konoha but there is one clan who sees everything. You want more answers, I'd go there."

Sasuke gave Ino a suspicious look, wondering why she was helping him.

"When you were dragged into my cell you were my enemy. You were Konoha's enemy," Ino explained. "Now you're not."

"I could be," Sasuke sneered, hating the certainty in Ino's voice.

Ino fluttered her eyelids amused.

* * *

When the Hyuuga allowed him to reach the gate, Sasuke immediately knew they did not know who he was. Even though he knew that the ANBU mask kept a constant swirl of chakra generating through it to prevent the Hyuuga from learning his identity, he still half-expected them to Jyuuken him five miles ago.

The Hyuuga at the gate searched him with a byakugan and Sasuke knew from his experience with the Yamanake what the man was looking for.

"No black envelope. I need to speak with the Clan Head," Sasuke said, not exactly sure who to go to with his inquiries.

The Hyuuga nodded and motioned him through the open gates.

'When did the Hyuuga keep their gates open?' Sasuke immediately wondered. Then he whipped his head around and outwardly stared at a Hyuuga academy-aged child with a short bob, rainbow-colored hair, and exaggerated cat eyes.

What the fuck?

Sasuke discreetly attempted to dispel whatever genjutsu this was but to no avail as he followed the child. He was escorted into the main household, entered a room, but his eyes could not leave the sight of the little Hyuuga who disappeared back around the corner.

"The new caged bird seal allows us to hide our eyes. Useful during a mission but the children have taken some liberties with it."

Sasuke's attention was finally broken and turned to find the Hyuuga Clan Head. He wasn't surprised to find Hinata had assumed the role. Her hair flowed long over her shoulders and the kimono she wore seemed to constrict her movements and trap her in place in a way a ninja would never allow.

"And their liberties will get them killed on a mission when they're standing out like fireworks," Sasuke sneered at the stupidity of it.

"I've asked them to change back after they graduate the Academy. But at the moment, they are children. Ninja-in-training yes, but does that mean they cannot express themselves?" Hinata asked softly, looking up ever so slightly from her bangs. She fidgeted her hands nervously. "What does the Hokage want of me?"

He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something about Hinata that bothered him. He distinctly remembered her Father, someone his own Father had an odd rivalry with and would curse often at the dinner table. But Hinata she was… weak and fragile. It would seem the Hyuuga Clan simply wasn't what it was before.

"Konoha is re-opening Uchiha Itachi's case file. I came here to inquire if the Hyuuga saw anything the night of the massacre?"

"I see." Hinata rang a bell and another Hyuuga came at the call. This one had glasses. Hinata explained what Sasuke was looking for. The Hyuuga bowed and went in search of anyone who might have seen anything.

"Are the glasses another fashion statement?" Sasuke huffed.

Hinata answered without pause, "Incest."

Sasuke whipped his attention back to her thinking he had misheard, but Hinata had already asked through a stutter, "Would you like some tea while we wait?"

"Hn."

Sasuke watched Hinata pulled herself up with a cane and limp to the other side of the room. Hinata noticed Sasuke watching as she came back over with a tray of tea. "Injury during the Fifth Shinobi War."

"Were you on the frontlines?" Somehow Sasuke found that hard to believe.

Before Hinata could answer, two Hyuuga filed in. They were two older females who bowed respectfully, "Honorable High Sister."

"Please sit and have some tea," Hinata directed. Neither of the elders had masked their eyes and looked on Sasuke with pale irises. Hinata poured the tea with careful attention as she asked, "Did you see anything the night of the Uchiha massacre? Konoha has reopened an investigation."

"I didn't see anything the night of the massacre but I did see something of interest the night I was on wall-watch," The elder with pale freckles responded.

"What did you see?" Sasuke asked as he began recording her words.

"Itachi and another Uchiha were talking in the woods a day before the attack. But I did not recognize this Uchiha. It wasn't until years later after I heard stories of the Fourth Shinobi War that I realized this Uchiha was Madara."

Sasuke paused, and then his silence slowly morphing into anger. "And you're only now coming forward with this?"

The elder turned to him, affronted. "When I realized the truth, the Uchiha were already long dead. I never reported it because is a meeting between two Uchiha in the middle of the woods all that suspicious? Only after the massacre did I think anything of it."

"But certainly you knew of the impending Uchiha rebellion? At this point any gathering of Uchiha would have been suspicious."

"I was a mere branch member," The elder snapped. "My immediate concerns were what I should prepare for breakfast in the morning, watching the wall, and making sure everything was perfect for the main family so they didn't have a reason to kill me. My life did not evolve around the concerns of the Uchiha."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her flippant disrespect but he held his tongue because her testimony was a vital piece placing Madara in Konoha at the time of that attack. And no matter how angry he got, it did not change the fact that she was right. He knew being a branch member in the Hyuuga Clan was complicated.

Sasuke sucked in a breath and asked, "Can you describe what he looked like?"

Sasuke wrote down the description and everything she could tell of the brief meeting. When he was finished, he turned to the second elder. "What did you see?"

"I saw the massacre." Sasuke's hand stilled. "If it's appropriate to even call it that."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked dangerously.

"Only a few fought back. Most of them sat there waiting to die. It was a heartbreaking thing to watch. The moment Itachi entered the gate, they were killing themselves."

Sasuke sucked in a breath, confused. The coroner's report had said that many died without a struggle but he had just assumed Itachi had caught them by surprise. Itachi himself had told him that he and Madara had killed everyone. "It can't be true."

"It is," the Hyuuga elder said softly. "Itachi only had to kill the leaders of the rebellion who fought back. The rest killed themselves."

"No," Sasuke shook his head, too many times new revelations of what happened that night has bombarded him unexpectedly. " _Why_?"

"I suspect it was a matter of pride," The Hyuuga whispered. "Pride alone is the very proof the Hyuuga and Uchiha were once related is not? What would you do if your husband was planning a coup against the village and you realize that the Hokage has sent an assassin to kill you? Would you fight for a cause you never believed in or would you put the sword through your own stomach, because you are a Uchiha, and sacrificing for this village is all you know how to do? Uchiha Itachi took the blame but most put the swords through their own hearts. Even the Clan Head, Fugaku and Mikoto, had waited for Itachi and they did not struggle when Itachi ran them through with a sword."

Sasuke stood to his feet and stammered quickly, "I need some air."

Hinata motioned toward the sliding doors that led to the gardens. Sasuke rushed outside and breathed in the trembling of his fingers.

They killed themselves. Sasuke had once bemoaned the fact that Itachi never gave anyone a choice and decided their deaths for them. But they had in fact made a choice. When given the opportunity, most made a choice to die for the village.

An entire generation that survived the Third Shinobi War chose death. When Sasuke finally managed to compose himself, he returned to the room. This time he sat down and took a sip of his previously untouched tea. It was a jasmine tea, subtly sweet and the smell eased tension from his shoulders.

In a rare moment, he was in complete harmony with a Hyuuga as they all sipped and appreciated their tea with mutual respect.

Finally the elder said softly, "Itachi took on the blame for the massacre so that Konoha would recognize the Uchiha's clan's sacrifice, so that their names would be placed on the memorial stone because the courage of the many outweighed the bitterness and stupidity of the few."

Sasuke flinched when the elder placed soft wrinkled hands atop his own. Sasuke watched uncomprehending as the elder was moved to tears. "I am sorry that the Hyuuga did not have that courage. No matter our rivalry, it was disgusting what Danzou did to the bodies afterwards. We should have said something. I always regret not saying anything but the Clan Head had already made the deal with Danzou to remain silent. There was nothing a branch member like I could have done," then the elder turned toward Hinata with a smile, "but we Hyuuga do not stay silent any longer. I hope my words today can somehow ease the suffering that you've been through due to the Hyuuga's years of silence."

Sasuke caught a sob in his throat as he pulled his hand away.

"Thank you," Sasuke whispered as the vision in his mask began to blur. Sasuke stood, bowed respectfully to each woman in the room, and left the Hyuuga Compound.

* * *

The window was open.

Sasuke figured he could come in. He found Naruto at the Kage's desk lounging his feet atop the desk, one hand working chopsticks in a cup of ramen and the other flipping through a report. Naruto didn't look up from his work when he asked, "What do you want?"

Sasuke didn't necessarily know what he wanted but that didn't prevent him from brushing his fingers over the surfaces of the office and studying it as if he owned it. Naruto didn't say anything until he finished his report and set it aside.

"The window is open for operatives coming in from a field mission. Not for you to stop by for a visit whenever you want."

"I shouldn't have left," Sasuke said suddenly.

"Left what?"

"Konoha. I shouldn't have left."

"I did try to stop you," Naruto replied bitterly.

Sasuke sighed, turned around and nervously touched the closest thing to him, which was a bookshelf. Sasuke leaned forward and picked up a picture frame on the desk. Naruto was at the centered of it surrounded by an obscene number of kids.

"They can't all be your kids."

"Officially, I've only adopted two of them. Depending on their background, some take my last name, some don't. Some of the kids lost their parents when they were babies and some when they were teenagers. Some hate where they came from and others grieve every day. Some see me as a father, or a brother, or an uncle. It really depends. At the very least, I give them a home and someone who cares about them. Sometimes that's all they need."

"Is this some kind of perverted guilt-trip because you couldn't save me or something?" Sasuke asked.

"I was an orphan too, remember?" Naruto said bitingly in reply. "I know what it feels like to need a family."

Sasuke scoffed. It was still weird. No one in their sane mind took care of over one hundred children a day. "Where's the wife?"

"There isn't a wife."

"The Hokage is still a bachelor at twenty-seven?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"My first wife jumped from the fifth floor of Konoha's hospital and killed herself shortly after the war ended. I was done with wives after that."

Sasuke didn't know how to reply to that. "Hn."

"I'm over it."

Then he asked softly, "Who all died in the Fifth Shinobi War?"

"Kakashi," Naruto began a list he could easily say by memory. "Kiba, Gai, Udon, both Shikamaru and Chouji's dad, we lost a lot of genin on the western front. You wouldn't believe it, Sasuke. Imagine our class of nine that graduated from the Academy. Out of an entire class only two survived the war." Naruto paused as he turned toward the window. "I died a little bit too."

Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets. "At least you finally became Hokage."

Naruto unexpectedly released a cruel unhinged laugh. It consumed every sharp corner of the Kage's office. Naruto lolled his head toward Sasuke with a feverish look that reminded Sasuke of the Fox.

"Yes, I'm the motherfucking Hokage."

Sasuke sat the picture frame down. "You said my name."

"What?"

"You usually refer to me as Crow."

"I make mistakes," Naruto said tersely. Naruto watched Sasuke pick up a second picture, that old picture of Team Seven, encased in a sharp silver picture frame. Sasuke winced behind his mask. He looked so… young.

Sasuke set down the picture harder than he meant to. Then he casually sat down in the chair. "I don't get it. Over my lifetime, I've been told several different version of events about what happened that night. And honestly, I don't know what to believe anymore. Do I believe my brother, Madara, or a Hyuuga?"

"I can at least say that Madara isn't your safest bet," Naruto deadpanned.

"Itachi never stopped lying to me," Sasuke said softly.

"You know, I told Itachi exactly that back during the Fourth War: that he was always trying to manipulate you and that what might be more effective in getting through to you is the truth."

"In the end, he couldn't even manage that," Sasuke said bitterly. "He lied about the details between him and Shisui. He lied about the massacre, again."

Sasuke suddenly remembered words that Itachi spoke to him right before the Edo Tensei faded away, " _That's why, I wanted to show you the truth, even just a little_."

_Even just a little…_

Itachi had told the truth, but not all of it.

Sasuke reasoned thoughtfully, "Maybe he couldn't tell me the entire truth about that night, maybe Itachi truly believed he did kill the clan whether he held the sword or not, maybe Itachi couldn't tell himself the truth. It broke him." Sasuke could see that now. "That night broke him."

Then Sasuke looked up at Naruto and knew what he needed to do. "Naruto, I need my eyes back."

* * *

"Have you completed your mission?" Captain Tiger asked.

"I have," Sasuke answered. "I have determined that Uchiha Itachi is a hero and that his name deserves to be on the memorial stone."

Sasuke further elaborated.

"Even though Itachi acted without the legal consent from his supervising officer or the Hokage, his actions helped to save the village." Sasuke placed a piece of paper onto the desk. "This document references Danzou's motivation for wanting the Uchiha dead." Sasuke added another piece of paper. "This documents an eyewitness account of Itachi meeting with Madara Uchiha, a known enemy of the Uchiha Clan since his defection. The night of the massacre, Itachi stepped into the compound with intent to kill in order to save Konoha from war and Madara's threat to annihilate it."

"But," Sasuke sat down another sheet of paper, "according to this eyewitness, Uchiha Itachi actually only killed six people that night. The rest of the Uchiha fell on their own swords. The only people Itachi killed were the main instigators of the coup against the Hokage. In the aftermath, Itachi took the blame for all of their deaths because Itachi had truly believed that their deaths were his fault."

"Furthermore," Sasuke set down a copy of Itachi's only S-class mission, "after the events of the massacre, Itachi was assigned to spy on the International Criminal Group Akatsuki for the village. Until the time of his death, Itachi had been working as an undercover agent for Konoha. The Hokage would have never given Itachi such an important task if the Kage hadn't personally pardoned Itachi for the events of the massacre."

"And what was Itachi's motivation? Why did he choose Danzou?"

Sasuke set down the interview from Itachi's former supervising officer. "Because all Itachi ever wanted was peace. Itachi chose Danzou because sometimes…. Uchiha makes mistakes. Sometimes we are so focused we don't see that we've turned down the wrong path toward our goal. People make mistakes, people lie, and people aren't perfect, even Itachi. But despite those faults, Itachi lived and died for this village."

Captain Tiger stared at Sasuke thoughtfully, then he slowly shuffled through all the papers on his desk and reviewed the information. Sasuke stood as still as time. It took forever for Tiger to read through the documents and finally come to a decision.

Captain Tiger grabbed a pen and signed his name on the document approving Itachi's name to be added to the memorial stone. A twitch pulled at the edges of Sasuke's lips and they upturned into a smile.

"You have a lightning jutsu?"

Sasuke blinked confused at the sudden turn of the question. "Yes."

"Then go," Captain Tiger said, "This is what my division does. We add the names to the stone. We make sure that all the sacrifices of those that died to protect this village are not in vain. Make sure Itachi's sacrifice isn't in vain."

* * *

Sasuke looked at the huge towering slab of stone. At the very top, the first name on the stone was an Uchiha. The Uchiha were listed frequently as his eyes scanned downwards. He stopped at the large block of text, almost ten entire lines in a row dedicated to the end of the Uchiha Clan. The legacy of the Uchiha who have come before him and died for this village were watching him.

Sasuke leaned forward and a blade of lightning erupted from his finger. He began to carve into the stone with careful script. Small flurries of snow began to catch in his hair and stick shyly to the ground.

Winter had been Itachi's favorite holiday.

Once Sasuke was finished, he straightened and remembered the last words Itachi had ever said to him, _"You never have to forgive me…"_

"I forgive you, big brother," Sasuke said and then whispered. "Will you forgive me?"

" _No matter what happens to you from here on out, I will always love you."_

Sasuke wondered if Itachi had said those words knowing that a few years later, eventually, Sasuke would be the one seeking his forgiveness. Sasuke crouched and began to dig furiously in the dirt until he had desecrated the sacred ground.

He breathed a visible cloud in the air as he reached into his pocket and took out the jar. Inside the container were the blind irises that Naruto had plucked out without Sasuke's consent. Then Sasuke gingerly reached inside and held the eyes that his brother had given him.

For a moment he paused and considered keeping them for himself, selfish, but they were the only thing left of his brother.

Sasuke rubbed the missing joint of his right hand and then forced himself to let Itachi go. Sasuke placed the eyes in the dirt and returned Itachi back to the village that he had died for.

"We're home."

And beneath the memorial stone, beside Itachi, Sasuke attempted to bury his mistakes, and bad decisions, and the vengeful hateful child he had once been.

But he'll keep the Uchiha. That was the best part of him.

* * *

**x**

* * *

**I've learned that you can't fix a person. You only learn to live with the empty spaces and jagged edges. Sasuke, put on that damn mask, grab this katana, and learn which pieces you want to live with.**

* * *

 


	8. Friends and Family

Sasuke shook out the cramp and popped all four fingers of his right hand. While he paused from his work, he looked up at the shelves of paperwork filed within the backroom of Konoha's police department. ANBU needed a copy of the new census for their records, which meant it was up to the newest member on Tiger's team to do it. At the rate Sasuke was going, he estimated it would take at least another four months to complete his second ANBU assignment.

"Another late night?" Sasuke turned to the doorway and found Konoha's current Police Chief still at the office, working late into the night. Sasuke couldn't remember when there was ever a woman police chief, but Tenten wore the uniform well. "Most ANBU are usually running for the door once their shift is over."

It's not as if Sasuke had anything else better to do.

Then Tenten suddenly sat down a bag of Ichiraku Ramen. Sasuke frowned. Was Ichiraku's the only restaurant that existed in Konoha?! Sasuke swore one day he was going to open up a successful senbei shop just to put Ichiraku out of business.

"Your hard work is noted." Tenten waved behind her before returning to a desk of reports.

Sasuke stared at the plastic bag until the smell was just too distracting to properly work. He set down the ink quill and broke apart the wooden chopsticks.

As he ate, he could almost hear the pitter-patter of footsteps playing hide-and-seek among the paper stacks. His mother's brother had been Konoha's Police Chief when the Uchiha had once resided over the station. When he was a toddler his mother would often bring him down to the Police Station whenever she had business with her brother. He used to run through these hallways in his diaper once upon a time.

After Sasuke finished eating, he returned to the mundane task of writing lines of perfect script across a scroll. He didn't stop until daylight filtered dust in through the window and Sasuke's internal alarm warned him he had ten minutes before his daily sparring match with Captain Tiger. He stood up and carefully categorized the paperwork to pick up for later.

His hand paused when the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder began to burn. It took him a while to realize that yes, the Kage was summoning him. His past two missions had come through Tiger Captain and he essentially hadn't seen Naruto in a month.

Sasuke could have stopped by the office if he wanted – but he was stubborn in the fact that Naruto didn't need him, he didn't need Naruto.

Sasuke pressed his fingers against the tattoo and activated the reverse summon. In the next blink, Sasuke opened his eyes to the early morning hues of the Kage's office.

Naruto was, as expected, at his desk. The sunrise seemed to outline the Kage's hat with a glow of fire. The bright sun shadowed the third figure in the room, who stood in front of the Kage's desk with arms crossed and a stubborn posture. Without even seeing the boy's face, Sasuke already knew from the shift of weight who he was.

"Crow, this is Tomu. Tomu…. you've met."

"If setting your lungs on fire is his way of an introduction," Tomu hissed and cut deep coal eyes in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke could have had a retort but he was stopped short by how unexpectedly eerie the boy looked like a younger Shisui if Shisui had dark brown hair instead of jet black.

"Tomu, you promised you'd try to make this work."

"Yeah, and one wrong move I'm tsukyomi-ing his ass."

"You don't even know that move," Naruto said with a patient amusement he certainly did not reserve for Sasuke or any of his other ANBU for that matter.

"For him I'll figure it out," Tomu replied blackly before crossing his arms and unsubtly leaning against the farthest wall away from Sasuke. Even at this distance, Sasuke could smell a varying mix of cleaning supplies sharp off the boy's scent.

"If Sasuke steps out of line, you are free to use the seal I imprinted in his shoulder to subdue him," Naruto compromised.

Sasuke flinched at the mention of the seal that leashed him here to Konoha.

Naruto turned from Tomu to Sasuke. "Crow, Tomu has been cleared to start back work and as of today I am officially assigning you as Tomu's personal trainer and bodyguard. Therefore, I am pulling you from your current assignment so you can fully focus on this one."

Sasuke frowned. He hated leaving anything unfinished, be it revenge or paperwork.

"The doctor hasn't cleared him for rigorous activity just yet but I would like you to start training him as soon as possible. _Light training_."

"I know the definition," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Light training," Naruto repeated. "Since you will regularly be around Tomu's person, I have created a cover for you for this mission." The Kage slid forward a folder. "You are now Torio Sato, an uncle staying with Tomu who is visiting from the countryside. I expect you to have the details of your cover memorized by tomorrow. Are there any further questions?"

When both Uchiha answered with silence, Naruto dismissed them from the office. Sasuke picked up the folder, moved toward the window but stopped when Tomu intercepted him with such an expression of disdain that Sasuke's arm twitched in annoyance. Tomu glanced back at Naruto with a resigned sigh then reached out. Sasuke raised an eyebrow when Tomu touched the smallest inch of Sasuke's sleeve with the smallest inch of a touch.

A wave of disorientation upset Sasuke's stomach as the Kage's office abruptly gave way to the inside of an apartment.

"The guest bedroom is yours. Don't touch my tape collection. Dinner is at eight," Tomu said immediately as he snapped his hand away, kicked off his shoes at the front door, paused, went back to symmetrically straighten the shoes, and then walked toward the kitchen.

Sasuke didn't move, instead he narrowed his eyes on Tomu's back and reviewed all the information he knew of the boy. He was ANBU. He called himself Tomu _Uzumaki,_ there was a slight difference in the way Naruto treated him, and he could effortlessly perform Naruto's teleportation jutsu, of which Sasuke was going to have to analyze the specifics of someday. In the hospital room, Sasuke gauged Naruto cared about the boy but it seemed the relationship went far deeper than he had first assumed.

Sasuke snidely commented, "Naruto adopt you once he found out you had the sharingan? Some kind of effort to replace me?"

Sasuke observed the way Tomu's back stiffened. "I knew Naruto before I ever activated the sharingan." Then Tomu leaned against the counter, throwing a calculated dark gaze he probably didn't know the Uchiha were famous for, "Besides, no point in replacing something you don't miss."

Sasuke flexed his fingers, eager to teach this child a lesson in respect, or at the very least, some fear. Sasuke stepped forward. Tomu activated his sharingan, two tomoe, not yet mastered. The sudden sight of those blood red eyes made Sasuke sneer. The boy was an amateur - wasting chakra by expending too much just to activate them.

But before Sasuke could teach the kid a lesson, the door of the apartment opened. In a moment, all the tenseness and aggressiveness seemed to deflate from Tomu's posture.

A woman entered the apartment and judging by her choice in attire, a long green hood that fitted loosely around the body, she was an Aburame. But when the Aburame pulled down her hood, took off her sunglasses, and chunked her cloak over the couch, Sasuke realized she wasn't just visiting, she lived here. Kikaichu beetles poured in and out of her pours and every once in a while disappeared in the dark shade of her bobbed haircut.

"You're home early," Tomu squeaked.

Sasuke caught the sudden sign of panic in his cousin's face. Was this woman a threat?

"I heard we had a visitor and decided to leave the hive early." The Aburame said as she turned to acknowledge Sasuke with a nod.

"Right, um, Crow, mind giving us some privacy?"

"I'm your bodyguard," Sasuke deadpanned. Then he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, as if daring the boy to physically move him. That would be amusing.

"Ass," Tomu grumbled.

"What's going on Tomu?" the woman asked.

Tomu wrung his hands nervously and then pulled her to the couch. "Mushi, Naruto called me into the office today. We had a lot to discuss."

Mushi, the Aburame, spared a glance in Sasuke's direction. "I see."

"I fucked up. In Ame, Momochi saw my sharingan. It's only a matter of time before the whole world knows about me."

Sasuke realized that when Naruto called him into the office he must have caught the tail-end of Naruto and Tomu's discussion.

"Now this ass has to be my bodyguard because people are going to target me," Tomu raised two quivering shoulders. "I don't think- I can't bear if anything should happen to you because of me. I think," Tomu mumbled out the last words, "we should break up."

The Aburame's face was impassive, until she finally said, "No."

Tomu's bowed head snapped up in confusion. "But it's not safe to be with me anymore."

The Aburame said as if reciting a list of historical immutable facts, "We've been together for seven years. We've been together through a war, through an S-class mission, through four times I've been in the emergency room of the hospital and through your two, through my mother's death, through birthdays and anniversaries and holidays. My answer to you Uzumaki Tomu, is no." Mushi stood up from the couch. "You can sleep on the couch tonight."

Then she slammed the door to what Sasuke assumed was the bedroom. Tomu slapped his face with his hands as he shoved himself back on the couch.

"This is all your fault," Tomu spat out.

"I'm not the fool who can't properly use a sharingan."

"If you hadn't interrupted my fight with Momochi, he'd be dead."

"If I hadn't interrupted, you'd be dead."

"I was winning."

"You think you were."

Tomu released an exasperated sigh. "I hate you."

"Hn."

* * *

Sasuke had settled on the couch and was memorizing the details of his cover. More than once he looked over toward Tomu with disgust. He was beginning to prefer the angry brat to this pathetic one.

Tomu knock pitifully again on the door. "Please come out for dinner. I made your favorite. I'm so sorry for being such an idiot. I'm sorry."

Sasuke snapped the folder closed once he was done reviewing it. This kid had to be the most pathetic Uchiha he's ever seen. "An Uchiha doesn't beg and grovel."

Tomu scoffed. "And how many successful relationships have you had? What would you have me do? Pummel her until she tells me yes?"

Sasuke whipped around and suddenly remembered that yes, Tomu had been there in Ame.

Tomu dropped his head back against the door and sneered, "You're an abusive prick who didn't deserve Naruto, not even a clone."

That white hot flame of anger leapt in Sasuke's chest. Tomu tensed at the speed which Sasuke vaulted himself over the couch but barely had time to react when Sasuke slammed his arm against Tomu's throat. Sasuke was tired of the bratty attitude, the disrespect, but most of all, how not an Uchiha he was.

Tomu easily realized that if it wasn't for the seal on Sasuke's shoulder, Tomu certainly wasn't strong enough to keep Sasuke from killing him. But Tomu narrowed his eyes and lashed out with his words, "I'm not afraid of you."

"You will be," Sasuke promised.

"I would really appreciate it if you let go of my boyfriend." A sudden female voice cut through that shroud of Sasuke's anger. "My body houses an A-class hive with an acid that will sear through your skin, muscles, and bones in .43 seconds. Let him go if you value your arm."

Sasuke didn't like threats but even he knew an A-class Aburame hive were rare and not to be messed with. Sasuke snapped away and finally felt as if he and the Aburame female were just now being properly introduced. He scrutinized her more closely and noticed her scars and the way she held her posture – ANBU, Jounin-level but the two flak jackets hanging off the coat rack suggested she was still a chuunin.

With a sharp grip, Mushi plucked Tomu from the wall. She stopped and gave a curious look at Sasuke from over her shoulder. "You don't look what I thought you'd look like. For some reason, I'd thought you'd be… bigger. Uchiha Sasuke, the traitor of Konoha, wanted for the attempted murder of every Kage in the former Five Shinobi Nations, and the Last Uchiha. Every child attending the Academy during the Fourth Shinobi War learned to fear your name. When a ninja out on the field went missing for no explainable reason it was blamed on you. You were like a boogeyman to fear out on missions, like a vengeful spirit of Konoha."

Then Mushi shrugged. "But you're just a man whose shadow is cast larger than he is."

It was the first time Sasuke has ever heard what children in Konoha must have thought of him growing up and felt almost a confusing mix of relief and bitterness for disappointing her.

"I made dinner," Tomu suddenly piped up.

"And you Tomu, are no better," Mushi chided. "Stop antagonizing him."

"Did you forget the part where he tried to rip out my eyes and kill me?" Tomu argued as he followed her toward the kitchen.

Mushi turned suddenly, stopping Tomu short. "And he saved your life."

"Only because Naruto forced him to."

"The fact still remains. Have you invited him to dinner?"

"No," Tomu mumbled.

Mushi turned to Sasuke who was watching the scene. "You are welcome to join us for dinner."

"No, he's not," Tomu grumbled under his breath but added another plate by dropping it loudly onto the table.

Sasuke didn't do family dinners. He didn't do them since the massacre. But he did enjoy Tomu's heated glare when he sat down in the dinner chair. Perhaps it was foolish pride but he'll have dinner if only to spite the boy.

"Naruto did not force me," Sasuke suddenly stated, as if suggesting both that Naruto could not force him to do anything he didn't want to do and that he did not need to be forced to save Tomu's life. But he never specified which.

"What's the cover story?" Mushi asked as she cut a piece of steak like slicing skin with a kunai.

Tomu used a fork and knife as he cut slow and grumbling through his piece of meat. "His name is Torio Sato, uncle from the countryside."

"Torio, I'm glad you could visit," Mushi deadpanned without much sincerity, but it was clear she was signaling it was time to start using Sasuke's cover. It portrayed her as professional and competent. Sasuke inwardly admitted he somewhat approved of her. The stupid kid could have certainly done worse.

"Uncle," Tomu almost choked on the word. "Pass the potatoes."

Sasuke chunked over the plate like throwing a shuriken. Tomu barely caught it and asked, "Did your mother never teach you any table manners?"

"Tomu," Mushi hissed, then snapped eyes toward Sasuke, anxious and wary.

Tomu's comment was like a broken plate tearing through Sasuke's skin, but Sasuke locked his jaw, and then sneered, "Did your mother never teach you how to say please?"

"Dick."

"Hn."

* * *

After Sasuke finished his morning spar with Captain Tiger, he joined ANBU Fox (Tomu) for his first day back to work. He walked down the hallway alongside Fox, who had just rolled out of bed half an hour ago.

"Why the Fox?"

"I didn't pick the mask if that's what you're asking," Fox answered. Even behind a mask, Sasuke could still hear that annoying level of disregard. "Naruto might be the Hokage but I'm fairly sure I got the Fox mask because sometimes Naruto does shit just because he finds it funny."

Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's childish humor and the ironic history the Uchiha have had with the Fox over the years.

"And what exactly do you do?" Sasuke asked as they turned another corner further into Captain Tiger's section of ANBU.

"Before I was assigned to Ame, I led a small task force under the purview of Captain Tiger."

"You lead an ANBU taskforce?" Sasuke asked, wondering if Naruto doled out promotions based on personal relationships. "Naruto is even stupider than I thought."

Fox gave an exasperated sigh. "Captain Tiger's division work with threats inside of Konoha and there are several different teams that work in tandem to keep Konoha safe. For example, there is a dedicated team assigned to solely watch the former Kiri Clans. I lead a team that monitors any civilian threat to Konoha."

Sasuke sneered at the idea. "Konoha is scared of its own civilians?"

"It's a new taskforce Naruto created after the Fifth Shinobi War. The war made it readily apparent the true weakness in Konoha's security: civilians. For years Konoha has fortified itself from an enemy ninja's infiltration but because civilians have no chakra and because they come in and out of Konoha at such a high volume, they have a higher chance of passing both the Hyuuga's vision and Aburame beetles undetected. Without unlimited manpower, it's impossible to track every single civilian. My team acknowledges this vital hole in Konoha's defenses and we attempt to manage it."

"But isn't that the oversight of Konoha's police department?"

"Sometimes I do work closely with the department but no, what I do is slightly different. The police department deals with robberies, break-in, civilian murders, and the like. My team deals with the ones crazy enough to bomb a city."

Sasuke nodded him head. The reasoning of it seemed sound and the sort of steps a ninja village should take following the prominence of the civilian terrorist organization, Kuro no Keiyakusha.

"Then why were you pulled for Ame? It seems to me this is very different work."

"For the Ame mission Naruto needed someone to infiltrate the highest ranks of Ame's various factions. Ame doesn't have a ninja Academy. In Ame, especially ninja born there, most train themselves on the streets. I fit that profile. I'm practically the epitome of untrained and because of it no one suspected me of being a spy."

It worked. The first thing Sasuke noted when he met Tomu in Ame was how untrained he was, which had led Sasuke to the conclusion that Tomu couldn't have been raised in any of the Great Ninja villages.

"Why are you untrained? Why did you not attend the Academy?" Sasuke demanded angrily. An Uchiha deserved better than this.

Fox turned to Sasuke and stared for several blank seconds. "You don't know? I was a civilian before I activated my sharingan."

That fact, which Sasuke really should have guessed if he even considered the possibility of the idea, never crossed his mind.

"And in my line of work in ANBU, I never really needed much combat training. Naruto has tried of course but his teaching motto is practically, 'do what feels right'. He has a lot of trouble explaining basic concepts. When he teaches jutsu it's about how it feels but not the theory or logic behind it. It works to an extent but when I have so much of the basics missing, it's an uphill battle." Fox shrugged his shoulders. "That's why you're here. Naruto knows he can't teach me the way you can."

Sasuke sucked in a breath. When Naruto asked him to train the boy, he never thought he'd be starting with the Academy basics.

Sasuke's train of thought was interrupted when they entered a large break room. Several masks, Ram, Ferret, and Sloth looked up at their entrance.

"Lieutenant! Long time no see."

Sasuke flinched at the odd sight of affection between a group of ANBU. They patted Fox on the back, ruffled his hair, and Ferret even gave a hug. Then Sloth stepped back to ask, pointing in Sasuke's direction. "New transfer?"

"Something like that."

"Wait, isn't this the guy that challenged the Captain?"

The question sucked all of the warmth from the room into a black hole. Sasuke scoffed in the awkward silence, which caused the other ANBU to jump with nervousness. Evidently, he already had quite the reputation.

"Crow will exclusively be working with me. So, what's the word out on the streets?" Fox said in an attempt to break the nervous tension.

The men shared an unsettled look.

Sloth cleared his throat, then stepped forward, and placed a metallic bomb in Fox's hand. "We confiscated this just the other day."

Sasuke immediately identified it as an exact match to the bombs from Ame that didn't require chakra but only a flip of a switch.

Sloth further reported, "It's definitely Kuro no Keiyakusha. The guy we got it from got it from a guy who got it from a guy who recently acquired a stash of it out in Tea Country. Evidently the Keiyakusha bastards are simply giving away bombs like free handouts to anyone who asks for one. We already alerted the Captain to their operation in Tea Country."

Fox nodded. "Let the other divisions handle it. Our main concern is how this got through the gate."

"A visiting merchant from Tea Country brought it right in. The Hyuuga overlooked it because the bomb has no chakra. It's just metal and wires."

"If we don't get ahead of this it's going to be a serious problem."

"When we told the Captain, he flayed the guys who were on duty when the merchant came in. The Captain has informed the sentries at the gate that everyone, ninja and civilian alike, are to be searched more thoroughly."

"Which means if these things can't be smuggled in through the direct route, there is going to be a lot more traffic trying to get them in through the illegal routes. Ram, I want you to focus on the gangs. Ferret, focus on the brothels. Today, I'm going to do the rounds of my usual profiles and check-in with them personally. Report to me at once if you find anything."

"Sir." The coalition of ANBU said.

Then Sloth said, "It's good to have you back. The other divisions didn't deserve you."

"Yeah," Fox said with a pain evident in his voice. He nodded his head and turned out the door. Once Fox and Sasuke were alone and walking through the hallway, Fox sighed and said more to himself, "I failed."

Sasuke didn't care much about the boy's self-pity but his brooding left a stinking odor Sasuke was annoyed by. "Everyone fails a mission."

"Have you?"

Sasuke took a moment to think of all his missions during his brief career in Konoha. "Doesn't matter. I've failed at everything else."

For a moment, they had something in common. Uncomfortable by the sudden feeling of a shared understanding, Sasuke asked, "What's wrong with that ANBU team? Why are they so strange?"

It elicited a short laughter, which Sasuke guess was better than brooding. Only he had a monopoly on that. Fox explained, "Most of the team is comprised solely of ninja from civilian backgrounds. Sometimes it takes a civilian to deal with civilians – someone who understands when it's better to knock on the door than to jump in through the window. We're the normal ones. It's everyone else in ANBU who's strange."

When they exited the ANBU underground, Fox henged his face into a random Konoha civilian. "We're going to sit in on one of Konoha's neighborhood meetings. Try to look less like a ninja. They know the Kage is watching but it's unsettling to be reminded of it."

Sasuke chose a henge he thought was representative of the civilians of Konoha.

They entered the community center and sat down in an empty row of chairs. The Civilian Representative, who brought civilian concerns to the council, was explaining a slight tax change that was going to affect business owners. Once she was finished she opened the floor to complaints.

"No one has yet to fix the broken fire hydrant outside of my apartment. It's still leaking everywhere. Just this morning, one of those mist children was splashing people as they walked by."

Fox whispered to Sasuke, "Naruto has run a rather aggressive campaign banning the term 'Mist ninja' from referring to Konoha's newest clans. The ninja know better but even after five years, the civilians are slower to assimilate simply because their lives are impacted more by broken fire hydrants than politics."

"I promise we will get this matter fixed as soon as possible," The Civilian Representative replied.

"Two weeks ago, a ninja ran across my roof so hard it now leaks when it rains. I placed a report and no one from the office has come to fix it yet. My children can't continue to live like this."

"We are currently on a backlog of reports. I promise we will get to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can pay someone to fix it and submit the receipt."

"But Konoha always takes twice as long with anything dealing with money. It'll be next year before I get my refund."

Sasuke decided he had never been more bored out of his mind. The civilians complained about the most menial things – taxes, potholes, grocery prices… the list went on.

Sasuke tensed when Fox poked him in the arm. "The man to your right, I've never seen him at one of these meeting before and he hasn't brought a complaint forward either."

"So," Sasuke deadpanned.

"No one bothers to come to these meeting unless they have something to complain about, otherwise you'd rather be at work making money. I'm going to talk to him once the meeting is finished."

Thankfully, the meeting was over in the next thirty minutes. Fox kept a casual pace as they followed the suspicious man out of the meeting.

Fox placed a hand on the man's shoulder, who swiveled in fright. Fox reached in his pocket and casually flashed the badge of Konoha's police. "I have a few questions."

Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned against a wall to observe. Fox certainly didn't need his protecting from a civilian.

"Officer, sir," the civilian stammered.

"Your name? And when did you enter Konoha?"

"Nimaka Kobo, sir. I emigrated from Grass province to Konoha a year ago."

"Uh-huh," Fox said blackly. "First, if you're going to impersonate someone from Grass, they never say province, they still call it Grass Country if only out of habit. Try again."

The civilian's eyes widened, then took a feverish turn. When the man hesitated, Fox outright punched the guy in the nose and caught him in a pair of hand-cuffs. Sasuke had to admit, if nothing else, Fox knew his expertise.

"To the police station," Fox motioned toward Sasuke. Fox carried the unconscious civilian to the police station and dumped him right in front of the desk.

"Fox! Long time no see. What have you go for us this time?"

"At the very least an illegal immigrant. Got a Yamanaka?"

The police shouted toward the break room and a sluggish chubby Yamanaka entered with a donut in hand. They went to the interrogation room. The Yamanaka placed sugar coated fingers on the man's forehead.

"This one is definitely yours." The Yamanaka wrote an address and handed it to Fox. "We'll process him and handle the rest. I'll have a report drawn-up for ANBU soon."

"Great," Fox said as he peeked at the address, "and I was hoping for an uneventful first day back."

Sasuke and Fox opened the door to the apartment and found boxes and boxes of mechanical bombs. It came as a shock to Sasuke who reasoned that either the sentries at the gate have been really lazy or Konoha has a problem. A Hyuuga didn't miss something of this size.

Fox activated his sharingan and immediately began to investigate the apartment. There weren't any furniture or scuff marks on the floor, which suggested that the apartment was being used solely as a storage area.

"There's hardly any dust so these boxes must not have been here for very long. The only way a civilian could carry these many boxes into an apartment without it looking strange would be the day he moved in. I'm going to talk to the landlord."

Sasuke nodded and picked up one of the bombs from an open box. The metal was smooth and pristine. Something wasn't right about all this but he couldn't put his figure on it.

Fox returned and reported, "Evidently our guy just moved in the day before yesterday. Luckily, these bombs haven't been in Konoha long and our perpetrator didn't have time to distribute many of them. Let's see," Fox began ripping open boxes, "The unopened boxes have about twenty bombs. This box which was already open have eighteen. Which means we have two on the loose."

"Could the one your team found be included in that number?" Sasuke questioned.

"I think it's a separate incident. Look at these bombs. I memorized the one from this morning with my sharingan. That bomb was rough, as if it's exchanged quite a bit of hands, but these are brand new."

Sasuke hadn't looked at the bomb from this morning that closely and now understood why the smooth and polished metal of these bombs unsettled him. "If these are brand new then they most likely came directly from Kuro no Keiyakusha."

"But the guy from this morning isn't. I've caught Kuro no Keiyakusha in Konoha before. They are way more careful about their cover than that idiot. I think he attended the meeting this morning to look for potential candidates to give these bombs to, not as an attempt to convert them, but to simply sell them." Fox sighed as he stood up.

"Sell all of these before he was found out?" Sasuke scoffed. "If Kuro no Keiyakusha were the ones who gave him these bombs then they're also idiots."

Fox stilled for a moment and smoothed his hand over the bomb in a moment of thought. "Unless they wanted him to get caught and they wanted the bombs to be found."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Hn," Fox responded in thought.

Sasuke understood Fox had a better understanding of the situation than he did. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Fox immediately replied, "Hopefully we'll have more information once T&I is done with him. What we need to do is get these boxes out of here."

With ease, Fox created two shadow clones.

It irked Sasuke beyond his nerves that Fox could manage to effectively create two shadow clones with perfect chakra precision but could only haphazardly activate his sharingan.

They henged the boxes and moved them to a secure location in the ANBU underground. After they were finished, Fox reported to his team what he had found. Only Sloth was present who was sifting through some paperwork acquired from the Police Department.

Sloth whistled. "Lieutenant, in one week we found a bomb. In one day, you found boxes full of them. I don't know how Konoha is still standing without you."

Fox laughed off the compliment. "Just luck." Then he turned to Sasuke. "It's about time for lunch. Ichiraku's?"

Sasuke gave a flat, "No."

"Sushi?"

"Acceptable."

Fox turned back to Sloth. "The T&I division should be sending us a report soon. Let me know when it gets in." Then Sasuke and Fox turned down the hallway.

Sasuke suddenly said, "It's not luck."

"What?" Fox asked, having not really heard him as Sasuke said it rather low.

"You're perceptive," Sasuke admitted. Throughout the day, it dawned on Sasuke that Tomu would never be the type of ninjutsu expert the Uchiha were infamous for, but instead, he was the sort of Uchiha history books had all but forgotten about. Tomu was an Uchiha who would have excelled and eventually rose to the rank of Police Captain. He was intelligent, knew a lot about people and a lot about Konoha, but most of all, he was perceptive even without the sharingan. With the sharingan, even more so.

"Was that a compliment?" Fox beamed at Sasuke's sudden approval.

"It was merely a statement," Sasuke scoffed and shoved past him down the hallway.

* * *

For lunch, Tomu took a break from the mask but Sasuke didn't have that luxury. Instead he adopted the henge he had specifically created for Tomu's uncle, Torio Sato. He henged the brown eyes he hated so much to a pale cloudy white. He made only slight alterations, enough not to look like Sasuke but enough to look like Tomu to be considered his uncle.

Tomu broke down in laughter when Sasuke changed into his cover. "You look like a feral Hyuuga. It's as if you told one of them to live out in the wilds without a hairbrush."

"A Hyuuga wouldn't survive," Sasuke deadpanned.

Tomu chortled a laugh and agreed, "Probably not."

Sasuke reached and felt Tomu flinch in shock when Sasuke touched him. Sasuke dropped Tomu's hand on the inset of his elbow, as if Tomu was leading the blind through the snow blanketed streets of Konoha.

"You know, people are seriously just going to think you're a Hyuuga. What's the point of feigning blind?"

Sasuke answered the question he thought Tomu should have asked, "The Hyuuga and the Uchiha are distantly related all the way back to the bloodlines of the Sage Hagaromo," Sasuke explained. "There was a falling out between the brothers and a falling out between the clans. When Uchiha and Senju founded Konoha, the Uchiha and Hyuuga reconciled. They had a strong alliance until the Hyuuga created the caged bird seal. The Uchiha turned on the Hyuuga afraid that one day, the caged bird seal will be used against them as well." Sasuke didn't hide his disdain when his eyes looked in the vicinity of Tomu's forehead. "The Uchiha and Hyuuga have hated each other ever since."

Tomu responded to the weight of Sasuke's stare. "I asked for the seal."

"It is a seal of slavery and ownership on your forehead. The Uchiha have never enslaved our own clansmen."

"Instead they ripped each other's eyes out for their own power."

Tomu was slammed back into a wall so hard, the force disrupted a ledge of snow which fell into his hair. Tomu cursed himself because for a brief moment, he forgot who Sasuke was. Sasuke reached forward and was further angered when Tomu flinched under his touch.

"That's a lie," Sasuke seethed under his breath. As Izuna once gave his sharigan to Madara, as Obito gave his to Kakashi, as Shisui to Itachi, and Itachi to Sasuke. No, Sasuke saw the truth of it now. "It was all a lie. A sharingan is not taken, it is given." Sasuke released Tomu and pulled his hand away from his jacket. "You have nothing to fear from me, cousin."

"Yeah, well, excuse me if you have a reputation for treating the people closest to you like shit."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the accusation and then noticed the forming bruise on Tomu's collarbone. He diverted his eyes and whispered, "I won't hurt you again."

Tomu scoffed. "We have to work together and no matter how much I hate to admit it, you're one of the last living relatives I have left, but I'll never forget who you are underneath the mask."

* * *

Sasuke was too busy brooding to note when they had arrived in the busy commercial district of Konoha. It was much larger than Sasuke remembered. Most of the shops that had been his favorites as a child were gone. New ones stood in their place.

"Konoha is finally experiencing and economic upswing after the war." Tomu paused, as if just as lost as Sasuke was, "Most of these shops weren't here before my Ame mission."

Finally, Tomu led them toward what looked like a shack but inside was a small family-owned sushi restaurant. Although it was the heart of winter outside, inside the heat melted the snow tracked across the floors.

The first thing Sasuke noticed was the woman behind the counter. Her teeth was as sharp as a shark, her as hair as white as a thick mist, but what drew the attention, was the fact she had only one arm.

"My favorite Uzumaki," the woman exclaimed while flaying a fish behind the window of the counter. "It's been a while."

"Long-term mission," Tomu explained as he plopped down on one of five chairs inside the small seafood shack. "Mizumi, this is my uncle Torio. Uncle, this is Mizumi who owns the worst sushi place in Konoha."

Sasuke sat down in front of the rotating conveyor belt and followed Tomu's lead as he began taking sushi from the belt and stockpiling it onto his plate. It was easily apparent why Tomu wasn't exaggerating. Sushi was considered an art form. It was 30% taste and 70% presentation. The sushi here tasted fine, even better than some sushi Sasuke has had before, but it looked disastrous. Entire pieces were cut in varying sizes and the sauces were slapped on. Sasuke couldn't believe Tomu actually dined here because he enjoyed the food.

"What? You thought a former mist-ninja would be good at making sushi?" Mizumi asked Sasuke's waned expression. "That's awfully stereotypical of you."

"I would think an owner of a sushi restaurant would be good at making sushi," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Where'd you get this fucker from?" Mizumi demanded.

"Family," Tomu sighed. "How are you and yours?"

"Clan's got their fishing lines all crossed what with the news about Momochi in Ame."

"Mizumi, there's a bone in this one."

"Just pick it out you pussy."

"What's your take on everything?" Tomu asked curiously as he flicked the bone in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, debating if that was on purpose or not.

Mizumi gave a frustrated sigh. "You can take a ninja out of mist, but you can't take the mist out of a ninja. It's _hard_. In Ame, it was constant war – with another country, with another clan, with the Kage, with each other… a Mist ninja doesn't know what peace is. If I hadn't lost my arm in the war, even I'd be plotting with the others. We all know Momochi's claim to make Ame a home for former mist ninja is just political bullshit. He just doesn't know what to do with himself if he's not at war, like the rest of us."

Mizumi landed a hard chop and severed a fish head in one stroke. "But the children have been raised different. All they know or remember is Konoha. Perhaps the adults struggle, but the children know peace. Konoha is good is for them. It's because of the children I don't think defecting to Momochi is worth it. But that's just me. Everyone in the clan has to weigh for themselves whether it's worth it or not."

Then Mizumi gave a sharp chuckling grin. "Not counting if the Kage doesn't slit our throats in our sleep before we even attempt to try."

"There's that," Tomu said uncomfortably.

Mizumi shrugged. "I wouldn't expect any less. He's a dangerous man with a dangerous clan."

Tomu laughed. "The Uzumaki clan is hardly dangerous."

"Mark my words, in a few years, the Uzumaki clan will be the most feared clan in Konoha. Every which way I look there's another orphan kid calling himself Uzumaki and when they grow up and don a hita-ite it will be chaos on a battlefield. You meet a Yamanaka and you know what you're dealing with. You meet a Nara, some sort of shadow jutsu. Hyuuga, the byakugan. But an Uzumaki? You don't know what the fuck they can do. You could have some sort of rare kekkai genkai for all I know. That sort of unpredictability is frightening."

Suddenly, an unhinged laughter consumed the room. Sasuke toppled over and the laughter crippled him against the table. Sasuke finally breathed in and said, "Konoha's number one unpredictable knuckle-headed ninja has founded the most unpredictable Clan in ninja history? Of course he did."

* * *

When they returned to ANBU the report from T&I were waiting for them. Fox scanned through the information. "Our guy never saw who sold him the shipment and the proxy who set up the deal is already on the run out of Konoha. They've alerted the hunter-nin division and they're already on it."

Sasuke found it rather fascinating how the different divisions of ANBU worked together. But now they were at another standstill. "What's next?"

"I have to check-in with my previous profile," Fox explained as they retained their masks for their next mission above ground. "After the end of the Fifth Shinobi War Konoha made a deal with Kumo. We detain their highest skilled ninja until they pay back war reparations. Everyone in my department is assigned a Kumo ninja to oversee. It is becoming more important to begin monitoring their status daily since the deal is soon coming to an end."

With the use of Fox's hiriashin jutsu, they appeared at the center of the richest district in Konoha, of which its most notable landmark was the Akimichi Compound.

Sasuke scrutinized the gaudy mansion Fox stopped in front of. The dwelling was as big as a clan compound. He wondered if all Kumo ninja lived this nicely in Konoha.

Fox knocked on the door. The last person Sasuke expected was the eight-tailed jinchuuriki.

"Yo, yo, yo, Fox what's up? Haven't seen you in a while. Came to check up on my life style?" Killer Bee exclaimed. He wore a leopard print robe to the door, large diamond earrings, and a gold gaudy chain. Sasuke wanted to kill himself now.

"Hey Killer Bee. This is my new partner Crow. Just doing a regular check-in."

"Make yourself at home. Feel free to roam." Killer Bee and Fox immediately walked down the hallway, seemingly forgetting that Sasuke was even there. Sasuke slowed and observed the insanity he had just walked into. The ceiling was inlaid with mirrors and large golden Gyuuki statues greeted you in the hallway.

Sasuke walked into the guest room but wondered why any guest would opt to stay. He froze at the sight of fuzzy purple couches, yellow carpet, the wall a pattern of green and orange, a disco ball shining from the ceiling, and a pristine white grand piano at the center of an apparent battle between the various funkadelic colors.

Sasuke would have believed he had just walked into a genjutsu if not for the fact that no one could possibly imagine something this surreal in such detail.

"I come home and found out you dropped a new album on me," Fox said with eager excitement. "At first I didn't believe it because it's so different from all your other work."

"Decided to do something new," Then Killer Bee leaned in conspiratorially. "There's this lady friend I wanted to woo."

"Hope it worked out for you," Fox laughed. "Everyone is saying your newest album is the biggest pop cultural phenomenon in Konoha since the Icha Icha series."

Killer Bee laughed as he poured two cups of Hennessey. "I think I have a few copies on me. Want a signed one for the lady?"

" _Really_?!"

Sasuke sneered in disgust at Fox's enthusiasm. Sasuke had to bite his tongue once Killer Bee found a copy of the album. On the cover was Killer Bee with his signature corn rolls and glasses, but combined with a sultry tuxedo and a bright red rose. It was hilariously horrible.

"I'm working on a deluxe edition. Want to hear the new song I'm working on for it?"

"Sure, but you know Bee, I like your old stuff. How come you don't ever go back to the classics?"

"I'm not as angry as I used to be. Those were the days of a young jinchuuriki." Killer Bee sat down at the piano. "Has Naruto schedule a day for the hand-over yet?"

"Can't wait to get home? I didn't think all us leaf ninja were so bad."

Killer Bee smiled. "Nah, it's just sometimes… you miss it you know? Home. It's time for me go."

"I'm pretty sure the Hokage is waiting for the last minute to schedule it. He doesn't want to date to get out."

"I understand. It's safer not to show all the cards in your hand," Killer Bee said and then sent his fingertips across the piano in an impressive medley. The soft mournful rhythm of the song began to play.

_Lay me down one last night before we have to say goodbye. These moments were brief baby but they were never a lie._

Sasuke raised a surprised eyebrow. Maybe the jinchuuriki's raps were atrocious but the man could sing.

When the visit was over, which ended after two hennessy bottles later that Killer Bee drank by himself since Fox was still on the clock. And yet, Killer Bee was straight sober as he walked them toward the door.

"Hey, this one is for you. It was nice meeting you too."

Sasuke looked darkly at the CD Killer Bee was offering him. "No."

Fox took it for Sasuke instead. "Thanks for the demo. It was great."

"No problem. Fox and Crow, see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," Fox confirmed.

When they arrived back to the underground, the break room was empty, but there was already a report from the hunter-nins waiting on the desk.

"Fuck," Fox cursed. "They followed the proxy out of Konoha but all they found at the end of it was a smoking crater out in Konoha's countryside. Someone got to our man before we did."

"The killer didn't leave a trail?" Sasuke asked.

"No, there wasn't anything the hunter-nins could follow."

"To evade a hunter-nin means that there are ninja involved," Sasuke reasoned, suddenly really engaged and intrigued by this case.

"That's what I was afraid of," Fox said as he sat down and went over the report more slowly. Sasuke picked up a copy and began reading through the details, he looked at Fox's face and remembered it was the same sullen expression when they had found the bombs.

"You think you know who's behind this," Sasuke suddenly realized.

"No point if I've got no evidence," Fox replied blackly.

"Who?"

Fox fidgeted. Then he picked himself up, looked out the door, and drew a seal on the handle. "What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room."

Now Sasuke was even more intrigued.

"I get nervous bringing this stuff up around ninja." Sasuke motioned him to continue. "Only someone very powerful could have gotten in those boxes all at once. The gangs don't have the power to pull this off and our enemies don't have enough of a foothold in Konoha to pull this off either." Fox leaned forward. "I think a council member or a clan is involved."

Sasuke gave an incredulous look. This was suddenly a conspiracy theory and much bigger than just catching civilian with bombs.

"My intuition is telling me the Akimichi. They are the biggest clan with a grievance against Konoha. A year ago, Naruto instituted a government program that subsidized the selling cost of narcotics. Naruto made the government approved drugs as cheap as the Akimichi's illegal ones. The Uzumaki clan no longer needed to step in and sell them anymore."

"Wait. The Uzumaki sold drugs?"

"Long story. What is important is the fact that the government program destroyed Akimichi's drug business in Konoha. If there is a clan looking to cause chaos, it's the Akimichi. Not only that, but they sure as hell have the power to get those boxes in."

Sasuke was still unconvinced. He knew a lot about the Uchiha's dirty laundry, but very little about the other clans. "Let's say they did, how would they go about smuggling in boxes full of bombs?"

Fox explained, "The Akimichi make a lot of money through protection racketeering. Businesses in Konoha that owe them are obligated to do favors when asked, for example, ordering in some questionable merchandise. Most of the time illegal immigrants are smuggled in through these boxes. They aren't recorded at the gate and they are in debt to the Akimichi for getting them in. The only way to work off an Akimichi debt is to work in their brothels or for free in one of their family businesses. The Akimichi raise the interest rates every year, higher than one can pay it off, and suddenly prostitutes in the red lights district are there working for life and those working in Akimichi businesses are literally slave labor."

"Why hasn't anyone stopped them?"

"For years the Akimichi have paid off Kages to look the other way. And in the long run, who does their business really hurt and profit from? Civilians. What the Akimichi do don't risk Konoha and some even argue, boosts its economy. For example, even the Akimichi don't sell highly addictive drugs. If they did and ninja began neglecting their job and dying because of it, then Konoha would care. But as it stands, civilians are always low on the priority list."

"Until Naruto."

Fox nodded. "Until Naruto. Now that Naruto has taken care of the drugs, he's beginning to turn an eye to the sex slavery in Konoha. The Akimichi know it."

Sasuke knew Naruto was stubborn and unlikely to back down from anything. But Naruto was a fighter, he wasn't a merchant or a businessman. "The idiot is going to get himself assassinated."

"I won't let that happen," Fox said determined. "My team doesn't even know that I've been collecting data on the Akimichi but all of my efforts have amounted to nothing. Since the Akimichi work through proxy it's so damn difficult to pin anything on them. I need some kind of evidence before I can even take my accusations to the Captain. Believe it or not, most ninja don't take too kindly when questioning the loyalty of clans. Question one clan, it's as if you're questioning them all."

Sasuke sucked in a heavy breath. How did he manage to get in the middle of another clan conspiracy?

"This goes without saying but this stays between you and me," Fox said as he rubbed his eyes and sat down the report. "Regardless, there's nothing we can do about it now. This case is a dead-end."

"Is there anything else on the agenda for today?"

"Not really."

Sasuke crossed his arms and nodded. "It's time to start your training."

* * *

They reserved an empty training room. Fox began to stretch rather nervously, not exactly knowing what to expect, but Naruto had warned him that Sasuke could go a tad overboard.

"Sit."

That wasn't what Fox had been expecting. "You don't want to gauge my level or anything?"

"I've spent the entire day with you. I know your level. Sit," Sasuke demanded but with an edge that suggested he wasn't going to repeat himself.

Fox did as he was told.

"We are going to start with the basics: breathing."

" _Breathing_?" Fox asked, incredulous.

"Learning how to properly breathe lays the foundation to producing strong fire jutsu."

"But I can already do a fire jutsu."

That was an insult.

"Your fire jutsu is terrible. Who the fuck did you copy them from, anyway?"

Fox said after some thought, "A Mountain ninja."

It was worse than Sasuke thought. "You couldn't have copied a Sarutobi?"

"A Sarutobi would have been better?"

Sasuke sighed exasperated and explained, "The Sarutobi are a branch family of the Uchiha. Sasuke Sarutobi, my namesake, was a Uchiha who never activated his sharingan but he was a skilled ninja and continued on to found his own clan."

"The Sarutobi are Uchiha's?" Fox asked in disbelief.

"No. The Sarutobi are related to the Uchiha. They have no sharingan. They are not Uchiha."

"But they have the potential to activate one?"

Sasuke paused, "Yes."

"So it's clear cut as that? Activate the sharigan – you're an Uchiha? Don't activate it and you're not? That's a fucking narrow definition of family," Fox argued. "What does that make you then?"

Sasuke stilled in his silence and finally said, "Not an Uchiha."

* * *

_Oooh Kunoichi, let me suck on your battle scars. I'll fuck you like a water jutsu, dragons in the bed and wet in the sheets._

Sasuke's brow flinched in annoyance at the music leaking from Tomu's and Mushi's bedroom. Although, he figured they were trying to be polite, Killer Bee's crooning could not hide the sound of bed springs.

_Oooh Kunoichi, kill me with your lips and mark my grave with your tits. Burn me with a fire jutsu and melt me with your heat._

Sasuke turned another page in the book he acquired from the ANBU library. If he was going to train Tomu, he needed to update himself on the latest chakra theories and jutsu. It was one thing he enjoyed about his time with Orochimaru – the wealth of knowledge that he had access to through the man's extensive library.

_Oooh Kunoichi, curves as sharp as a kunai. I can sharpen your edges, smooth along my friction, girl._

"Uzumaki," a throaty moan came from the bedroom door.

_Oooh Kunoichi, you've assigned your kisses down low. Your body is an S-class and your danger has enlisted me._

_But the symbol atop your forehead is not the same. Enemy Kunoichi, I'll never know your name but I've got your body recorded like a sharingan._

_Tonight, I'm a missing-nin between your legs. Oooh Kunoichi._

As the song ended, Sasuke, silently, only to himself, admitted he kind of liked this song. Even he could appreciate the impressive interlocking of metaphors.

A click from behind let Sasuke know the bedroom door had been opened. Feet moved toward the kitchen and began to rummage through the cabinets. "If the music was to mask your late night activities, it was rather pointless."

"What the fuck?!" Tomu literally screeched as he fell back against the cabinets, completely in the nude, still sweaty from sex. "Why are you still up?! It's four in the morning."

"I'm reading."

"In the fucking dark?!"

"There's a full moon."

"Fucking insane," Tomu heaved.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings," Sasuke chided.

"I didn't think my estranged psychotic cousin would be waiting for me on the couch at four in the fucking morning," Tomu spat and slammed the cabinet door shut as he began to fry a pan of eggs. After several minutes, Tomu turned with a plate of omelets. Instead of going to the table, he uncomfortably stayed behind the counter.

Sasuke made a calculated guess what Tomu was embarrassed about. "I have no desire to fuck you."

"It's not that you're gay. It's like suddenly walking into a room after having sex and your mom is sitting there. Dude, uncomfortable."

"You equate me with your mom?" Sasuke asked, unsettled and little horrified.

"Metaphor," Tomu pressed, then after several bites of his omelet, Tomu asked, "It's been my observation that most clan ninja look down on homosexuality. You seem okay with it."

Sasuke's jaw tightened. "In the Uchiha clan, there's a higher chance a child will activate his or her sharigan if the parents of said child both activated their sharingan. To marry an Uchiha and produce offspring was a responsibility to the clan. Homosexuality, outside of anything but a mission, was seen as extraneous, frivolous, and irresponsible."

Sasuke frowned, brooding, and stared unseeing into his book. "I don't know when I…" Then Sasuke caught himself. This was too embarrassing and sensitive a topic to talk about.

"Don't know what?" Tomu asked curiously. "When you realized you liked guys?"

He was not going to entertain this conversation. He closed his book and stood up from the couch. He didn't understand why he felt so much guilt and shame behind that question.

"It's cool, we don't have to talk about it." Tomu shrugged.

Suddenly Tomu's nonchalance frustrated him to no end, when others would have peppered him nonstop for an answer. Sasuke replied in a whisper, "The night I saved Naruto's life at the Valley of the End."

"Huh? Wait, I thought you left him there to die."

"I saved his life," Sasuke snapped.

"Naruto says you left him to die."

"He's wrong."

"Um…" Tomu leaned forward against the counter and asked, "Have you two ever talked about that night?"

"What's the point?" Sasuke asked. What happened, happened. There was no point rummaging around in the past, especially if Naruto didn't want to.

"Sometimes talking about things help." Tomu said after a thoughtful moment, "Captain Tiger told me you haven't been attending therapy sessions."

Sasuke scoffed and couldn't believe Tomu would bother him with such nonsense.

"All ANBU are required to see a monthly psychiatrist. It's important that we stay as mentally healthy as we are physically healthy. Even Naruto sees one."

That got Sasuke's attention. "Why would Naruto need to see a shrink?"

"After the war, Naruto instated a new health program to help ninja who were struggling to reintegrate into peacetime after the Fifth Shinobi War. Naruto decided to lead by example. You should go, maybe it'll help you get some sleep," Tomu said knowingly.

Sasuke threw the boy a sharp look. "I couldn't sleep because of your incessant fucking."

"My house," Tomu said as he swallowed the rest of his omelet. "I fuck where and how many times I want… How many times she lets me," Tomu quickly amended. "Nevertheless, the growing rings around your eyes suggest you haven't been sleeping. You didn't have this problem in Ame."

In Ame, Iraiya's warmth had been a constant anchor. He missed the calming rhythm of Iraiya's breathing. He missed the scent of maple leaves he now understood originated from the forests around the Uchiha compound. He missed his company… and it was something Sasuke would never in his life admit to out loud.

"You should try a psychiatrist at least once. How much could it hurt?"

"I don't need anyone to tell me how fucked up I am," Sasuke deadpanned. "I know."

Tomu suggested, hoping that Sasuke would agree to some professional help because he couldn't shoulder Sasuke's mental health on his own, "I'll have to pull a few strings but maybe I can get you Naruto's doctor?"

"Hn."

* * *

There was a lobby. Sasuke had to wait. This was stupid.

They sat in one of the various lobbies of Konoha's newly constructed psychiatric building paid for with taxpayer's money. When Sasuke heard the secretary called his name, he was close to bolting from his seat and out the door. But Tomu noticed the hesitation. "I can go with you if you want?"

Sasuke scoffed, thrust himself out of the chair, scratched his signature across the sign-in sheet, and entered the door labeled, 'Dr. Yamanaka.'

Immediately he was greeted by a blonde male whose bow almost tipped his glasses off his face. "It's nice to meet you. Please have a seat."

Sasuke passed him by and immediately began to inspect the office.

"Or feel free to stand. Whatever makes you feel comfortable."

Sasuke studied the large psychology tomes on the bookshelf and the certifications hanging from the wall. The windows were frosted over with ice but the warmth of the room emphasized the smell of lavender and jasmine. Sasuke whipped his head around when in his periphery vision Dr. Yamanaka wrote something down in his notebook.

"The first session is to establish a level of comfort with one another. Feel free to ask me anything."

"What did you write down?"

Yamanaka chuckled, "the date."

"You're Naruto's doctor?"

"Yes, I am. But I practice a policy not to disclose any information discussed with any of my patients to anyone or the government. These sessions are strictly confidential."

"And if I were to torture you for it?"

"Because of my access to sensitive information, I am required to carry around a suicide pill with me at all times. I would appreciate not having to die today."

Sasuke scoffed and turned to further investigate the office space.

"My name is Kirio Yamanaka. Unlike most of my kin, after I graduated the academy I moved to the Capital and attended the University of Psychology. I returned to Konoha after the bombing and have successfully established my practice for the past five years. Now that you know who I am, I am curious to learn more about you. What should I call you - Torio Sato, Sasuke, or Sasuke Uchiha?"

"You're inside of my head," Sasuke snapped and headed towards the door.

"Everything revealed in this room is confidential. I simply use my clan's abilities to help my patients shift through the complicated network of their emotions. But if you do not wish me inside of your head, I will honor that request."

Sasuke landed his hand on the doorknob.

"Before you leave," the doctor insisted, "what is your name?"

"You already know my fucking name."

"I know the names people call you but not the one you call yourself. Who are you?"

It was a question Sasuke should have been able to answer easily and could have just a few months ago but being back in Konoha had him re-evaluating everything, even who he was. Not long ago he had explained to Tomu why he was no longer an Uchiha. Then what was he then?

"Crow," he whispered. "I'm Crow."

"Crow, a carrion bird that feeds on freshly dead corpses. Despite its gruesome nature, the Crow is a mark of rebirth and rejuvenation. Its ability to clean a battlefield has historically attributed the animal as a symbol of rebirth following a tragedy. That is the identity you have chosen for yourself. You are still transforming, but what and who you ultimately become is up to you."

Sasuke's hand stilled on the doorknob.

"But the most important question is, what do you _want_ to become? When you are ready to answer that question feel free to set an appointment for our second session."

* * *

"Explain Naruto's teleportation jutsu," Sasuke asked as he and Fox were meditating after a lesson. It wasn't a rigorous lesson, just a basic review of the forms learned in the academy… several hundred times. "Is it similar to the Fourth Hokage's hiraishin technique?"

"It started out very similar, but the biggest difference is Naruto's large pool of chakra. It allows Naruto to hiraishin much farther than his father ever could and utilize it more as a teleportation technique."

"How far?"

"Pretty much anywhere he has a hiraishin kunai planted. He's also been tinkering with the seals over the years and lessening the chakra required to activate it, which is what allows me to use it rather safely."

"So everyone in the Uzumaki Clan can use this technique?"

"No," Fox said horrified at the idea. "The only people he trusts this technique with is Ame and I. Say you accidentally attempt to hiraishin to a kunai that is too far and costs more chakra than you have – you'd end up dead on the other side. This is why Ame and I can only hiraishin to kunai inside Konoha."

Sasuke picked up one of Fox's kunai and analyzed it closely. Under Orochimaru's tutelage he had studied a little on seals but even he could tell this was complex. "How do you tell where it goes?"

"That part is complicated. Some kunai is connected to many, some are only connected to one, and some will send you to the closest. Naruto taught me how to read the seals so I can figure out what each kunai is connected to but I don't actually know how to make them."

"So you can't actually apply a hiraishin seal to the hilt of your katana in case an enemy knocks it from your hand?"

"Huh, that's a good idea. I can ask Ame. She'll be happy to work on it. She's learning how to make the more intermediate ones."

"What does an advanced seal look like?" Sasuke asked curious, both in an attempt to learn what Naruto has accomplished and how Tomu could effectively apply this technique in combat.

"Naruto doesn't apply a hiraishin seal to only kunai." Fox lifted him arm, rolled up his sleeve, and displayed the symbol of the Uzumaki Clan symbol on his forearm.

Sasuke had certainly noted it before but hadn't thought anything of it. Upon closer inspection now he saw it. "It's a seal."

Fox nodded. "It's a very advanced hiraishin seal Naruto developed. All in the Uzumaki clan wear it."

"What does it do?"

"It connects us to Naruto. It allows him to get to us anywhere, no matter what. It doesn't even require the wearer's chakra to activate."

"Explain," Sasuke demanded, suddenly intrigued by the theory of it. All seals needed chakra to activate.

"I spread my blood over the seal and it begins collecting nature chakra to activate the seal. So in the case I'm dying of chakra exhaustion I can still use it without any harm to myself. It sends a signal to Naruto that I'm in trouble and in an instant, he hiraishins to me no matter where I am in the world. It also automatically sends a signal when I'm near death. Because of it, Naruto literally has small Uzumaki whirlpool tattoos all down his back, one for every person in the clan."

"That's how Naruto saved you from me in Ame," Sasuke realized. "Can the technique be reversed? Can you get to Naruto whenever you wanted?"

"No, Naruto specifically didn't put that function into the seal. He uses a lot of shadow clones and he's not always where he says he is. You could die trying to get to him if he's on the other side of the world. Naruto's saw it as too high-risk. Because of it, there's only one person Naruto trusts with a reversal component."

"You?"

Fox pulled down his sleeve. "No."

"His daughter?"

Once Fox realized Sasuke was fishing, his eyes widened in concern. "Look, I really don't think Naruto wants me discussing his private life with you."

"You're comfortable discussing the intricacies of what has now become one of Naruto's most infamous techniques but not the person who Naruto has allowed to reach him, the Hokage, anywhere anytime when his own children don't have that privilege?"

"I'm not talking to you about this. It's not my business to share. Naruto is rather relaxed when it comes to sharing his jutsu, but he is _very_ protective of the people closest to him. Please respect that."

Sasuke conceded with a slight frown. He was curious but it led him to realize just how far he had fallen from Naruto's sphere of influence.

* * *

"It's good to see you again, Sasuke," Dr. Yamanaka said from his couch as Sasuke drifted around the room, still too uncomfortable to sit down. "Have you thought about the question I posed to you before?"

Sasuke leaned back against the window and closed his eyes, crouching his hands in his pockets as he answered with what seemed to be a conspiring whisper, "I no longer want to be defined by the dead. And I no longer want to be defined by my anger."

It was a profound statement for the man known as Sasuke Uchiha. It was a vague answer, and not a definitive goal, but it took him weeks to formulate what he wanted into words.

He loved Itachi. He loved his family. But quite frankly, he didn't have the energy anymore for revenge and anger all the time. When he buried Itachi's eyes, he laid him to rest. His brother was no longer a ghost he wanted to carry around with him. Itachi deserved better than that.

"Have you always had difficulty managing your anger?"

"No. When I was younger I could control myself. I was still angry but I could manage it."

"Stifling your emotions isn't the same thing as managing it," Dr. Yamanaka corrected. "Regardless, when did it all change? What became the point you could no longer stifle your anger?"

"Itachi's death," Sasuke said knowingly. "After Itachi, I didn't care who I hurt."

"But you care now?"

"Hn."

"It seems to me that both your wants aren't mutually exclusive. Anger is a way you manage grief. Once one is resolved, the other will be easier to manage. Have you visited the clan graves yet?"

The graves were in the compound.

"No."

"Why not?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "I can't."

"You can when you're ready. Have you had any outbursts lately?"

Sasuke shook his head. He's felt annoyed, frustrated, and irked, but thus far hasn't physically lashed out at anyone since the first day with Tomu.

Dr. Yamanaka tapped the rim of his glasses. "Describe anger. What does it feel like?"

Sasuke huffed in exasperation at the task but he answered anyways. The words left his lips easily, "It's a perfect fire jutsu. The heat of it is so hot it melts away flesh. The coil of power in your chest explodes out of you all at once to produce an uncontrollable brilliant flame."

"But a fire jutsu has a wide range, doesn't it?"

"Hn."

"Tell me," Dr. Yamanaka leaned in curiously and Sasuke could smell the expensive cologne that colored the man's scent. "In comparison, how would you define Amaterasu?"

Sasuke smiled when he answered, "It is mastery."

"Amaterasu doesn't need to be breathed in through the lungs, instead it is a force of will. It is the ultimate pinnacle of a fire jutsu. Amaterasu burns hotter than the sun and maintains its form for seven days and seven nights. With Amaterasu you can simply look at something and set it to burning. In all honesty, it takes absolutely no technique to set things aflame. It is simply an unleashing of raw power.

The mastery, the true indicator that a person has conquered fire, is the ability to stop Amaterasu." Sasuke leaned forward and his eyes burned bright. "To stop Amaterasu the user has to know fire, know how it reacts to various materials, know how it twists and turns and burns. Only a master of fire jutsu can control a force that powerful."

Dr. Yamanaka said triumphantly. "It's time you stopped thinking about your anger like a fire jutsu and begin thinking about it like Amaterasu. What you seek is mastery."

And just like that, it felt as if Sasuke's world had shifted.

* * *

"What's the point of this?" Sasuke asked grumpily as he sat down in the booth with his arms crossed.

"It's the third Thursday of the month," Tomu proclaimed as he walked over with three bottles of beer from the bar. For some reason, Tomu has been bouncing about like a kid on sugar all day.

"It was Tomu's idea. Third Thursday has been a tradition for five years now," Mushi said as she moved one of the beer bottles to the empty space next to Tomu. Sasuke wondered who the space was for when Tomu suddenly jumped from the booth and greeted the Hyuuga who walked in through the door. Sasuke recognized the short hair and glasses wearing Hyuuga from the compound.

A Hyuuga and Uchiha best friends – sometimes Sasuke really thought the universe was mocking him.

"Uncle, this is Hohei. Hohei, this is _Torio_ ," Tomu stressed the name.

Sasuke gave a dismissive grunt in greeting. Hohei nodded, sat down, and popped open the beer cap on the edge of the table.

"Mushi and I have an announcement," Tomu began.

Tomu gave Mushi a big grin, turned to the table with wild excitement and just as he was about to speak, the Hyuuga raised his beer in a toast and said, "Mushi's pregnant. It's a girl. Congratulations."

Sasuke swiveled his head toward Tomu, then Mushi, then back to Tomu.

"Fucking Hyuugas, always taking the fun out of things," Tomu grumbled and then brightened, "Wait, it's a girl?"

Hohei nodded and asked, "You told Naruto yet?"

"It's not exactly something I want to tell him in between meetings. I want to sit him down when he has time to talk." Tomu took a drink. Sasuke decided that he could put the beer in front of him to use as well. "Besides, with everything that's going on, I don't want to add all that stress on him just yet."

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted. Tomu was stupid but he had a hard time believing Mushi was that irresponsible. "Any day now you can become the biggest target in Konoha."

Tomu gritted his teeth. "Mushi and I were trying for a family before this whole sharingan thing came up. If I had known I would have never… but it's too late for that now. I'm going to be a father."

"You're stupid," Sasuke spat.

"I refuse to let the sharingan control my life."

Tomu sat down his beer, as if knowing they could argue forever on the topic, and motioned toward the pool table in the corner of the bar. Without a word Hohei stood. They walked to the pool table as Tomu threw his hand over Hohei's shoulder and whispered not so quietly, "Which means I need a best man for the wedding."

Sasuke scoffed some more. Then he glared in Mushi's direction.

"If there's something you want to say, say it," Mushi said as she nursed a glass of water.

"This is only going to hurt him. Konoha's enemies will target you. They will target the child."

"I have faith in my village and the Hokage to protect us," Mushi replied.

Sasuke could only shake his head and take another swing of beer. Mushi stared at her cup of water with distaste and observed more to herself, rather disappointed, "I don't have my hive anymore and I still can't drink."

"Your hive is gone?" That information caught Sasuke's attention. As Tomu's bodyguard, it was something he should know about.

"You don't know?" Mushi questioned as she unconsciously scratched at her arm, "Kikaichuu beetles consume vital chakra that the fetus needs to develop. Because of this, an Aburame female gives up her hive to the clan for nine months. I had the operation done this morning because it had to be completed within the first trimester."

"Is that apart of the operation," Sasuke nodded toward the Aburame's hand scratching her arm.

"I got bit by something on the way home. Think it's getting infected, nothing to worry about." Mushi sat her hand down and watched Tomu and Hohei through the thickness of her sunglasses. The Hyuuga dominated the game of pool, a game which Tomu was too excited to pay attention to.

Then Mushi stood up, joined the game, and gave Hohei a run for his money. Sasuke watched darkly from the corner as they laughed as if nothing in this world could touch them. Stupid kids.

When Sasuke finished his beer, he picked himself up to grab another one to get through the night. Their laughter reminded him all too much of another genin team that was nothing but a fractured ghost now.

The bar was mostly empty and the bartender was unfortunately the talkative type. "Never seen the Sannin bring in a fourth member on their Thursday nights."

"The Sannin?" Sasuke immediately questioned.

"Yeah, those kids were the only genin to survive the war on the eastern front. That's what everyone calls them: the Hokage's brother, the Aburame prodigy, and the Hyuuga Clan Heir."

Sasuke remembered a time when the Sannin once referred to the Snake, the Toad, and the Princess. Each day made him feel a little older.

Suddenly a heavy beat and Bee's voice came through the speakers of the bar. Sasuke groaned and then glared at the bartender who turned to raise the volume of the song.

" _Got back from a mission today high and alive and just got paid. Make this B-class fade away lets blow this money all in one day. One bar, two bar, three bar, four. Gamble Tsunade out of her drawers. Fuck a Yamanaka, huff a Nara for some weed, fine dining with the Akimichi, then get drunk like Rock Lee! Get drunk like Rock Lee! Get drunk like Rock Lee!"_

* * *

Several hours later, he was helping Mushi carry two stumbling drunks home. Mushi supported Tomu on her arm as he weaved and strayed down the street. Sasuke was burdened with the task of making sure the Hyuuga didn't fall face forward into his own vomit.

"Thank you for the help," Mushi said sincerely when they reached the door of the apartment. "Just drop Hohei on the couch," Mushi directed before shoving Tomu into their bedroom.

Sasuke did just that. He dropped the Hyuuga atop the couch and his glasses accidentally rattled onto the floor. Sasuke glared at them as if he could telepathically move them. With a sigh, Sasuke reached down to pick them up. He reached forward to place them on the armrest of the couch, then jolted when a sudden hand wrapped around his waist. He caught his balance against the couch as he was tugged forward and his crotch was pressed between the Hyuuga's legs.

All of a sudden, his body reacted to the drunken advances. It's been so long since Sasuke has satisfied this particular hunger. And the sudden idea of fucking a Hyuuga in the ass sounded like the best way to spend the night. Without hesitation, he pulled the boy up from the couch and into his bedroom where he scrambled in his nightstand for the bottle of lube.

Sasuke pulled at the shirt robe that the boy wore. It fell open to reveal faint scars across the skin. Sasuke reached forward and pulled the pants from the Hyuuga's narrow waist. Then Sasuke stopped with a raised eyebrow. He was well aware of how the Hyuuga prided themselves on their grooming habits, but did not realize how low it extended. It was the first time Sasuke had laid eyes on a male completely shaven. He didn't know what it meant that he was turned on by it but Sasuke spread his hands along the smooth skin.

Without the glasses, the noble features of the Hyuuga were distinct. This one was no doubt as pure-bred as they came and young, so very young.

Sasuke stopped. He dragged a hand across his face. What was he doing?

Sasuke grumbled as he rolled from the bed. Once the Hyuuga no longer had anything close to him to touch he relaxed back in the bed and was asleep in seconds. Sasuke shut the door behind him as he walked toward the couch, crossed his arms, and moped for the rest of the night.

* * *

Sasuke underlined a passage about chakra recovery when his bedroom door creaked open. Footsteps dragged into the bathroom. A toilet flush and a brief run from the sink later, the bedraggled Hyuuga stumbled forward and then placed his forehead on the cool porcelain of the kitchen counter.

"We didn't?"

"You're a Hyuuga," Sasuke sneered.

"Excuse the mistake. I did just wake-up half naked in your bed," The Hyuuga responded dark with sarcasm. After several minutes, Hohei picked himself up and turned toward the cabinets. He placed a pot of boiling water on the stove for some tea.

"Didn't think the main family could make anything for themselves," Sasuke observed.

"We do now," Hohei said as he washed out a dirty coffee mug. "And our definition of main family has changed. I am a branch member now."

Sasuke frowned. He had never heard of a clan doing that before. "How do you just change?"

"Easy, change," Hohei deadpanned.

"It was either change or destroy ourselves. We chose the former." Hohei didn't have to say aloud what option the Uchiha chose.

Sasuke skin was beginning to crawl at the blatant disregard in Hohei's voice. He tolerated Tomu's disrespect, but he certainly wasn't going to do the same for some Hyuuga punk.

Sasuke bookmarked his page and sat it down. Then he pushed himself to his feet.

Not even those pale orbs could hide the sudden fear that flickered in them. Hohei was slightly taller but nothing compared to the way Sasuke's killing intent filled the room and bowed his shoulders. Sasuke stopped an inch away from the Hyuuga who had fallen back against the kitchen counter.

"I could kill you," Sasuke said simply, trying to control the anger that wanted nothing more than to stab a raikiri through his chest for daring to challenge him. "But it's not worth it."

Hohei was Tomu's best friend, Tomu would care, Naruto probably wouldn't be happy – Sasuke simply didn't want to hear it.

Suddenly Sasuke was caught off-guard when Hohei dared to pull forward.

The softness of Hohei's lips pressed into a kiss. The pot of water boiled over as Sasuke closed his eyes to the feel of the boy's body against his. The shampoo in the Hyuuga's hair smelled of sandalwood. His mouth tasted of mint from the toothpaste he had just used. The boy was filled with so many scents and smells that Sasuke wanted nothing more than to pick them apart and consume them one by one.

Then Sasuke snapped away angrily and remembered why he had stopped last night. "You are a child."

Hohei gave him a perplexed stare, his bright orbs and bruised lips only making him seem more childlike in Sasuke's mind. "I'm nineteen years old."

In a ninja village, you were an adult when you graduated the Academy. But for Sasuke, that didn't make the six year age difference any closer. He refused to be another Orochimaru.

Sasuke turned on his feet and slammed back down onto the couch. He picked up his book but could no longer focus on the words, both his erection and Hohei's lingering stare distracting him.

Eventually, Hohei sat down in the armchair across from Sasuke with his cup of tea. "I guess it's for the best. I'd never hear the end of it from Tomu," Hohei admitted, then those eyes that could penetrate any wall or henge said softly, "The stories didn't do you justice. You are so frightfully beautiful."

Hohei drank his tea. Sasuke brooded, unable to get to sleep because he missed the weight of someone in his bed. They sat and shared the silent spaces of the room.

* * *

As usual at the end of their day, Tomu was doing a quick clean of the apartment before he went to bed. Sasuke was on the couch reading a research paper on the reconsideration of the relationship between lightning and earth chakra nature transformation. It argued that earth was actually stronger than lightning.

The bathroom shower and one of Bee's rap albums, of which Sasuke had learned was Tomu's favorite, droned on in the background.

"Uncle," Tomu said when he finished cleaning with an obsessive attention to detail. "I've invited a few people for dinner tomorrow night."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and could already parse out the reason for Tomu's nervousness.

"Naruto is coming for dinner," Sasuke stated as fact.

"Yes," Tomu confirmed. "Ame and Ichigo, Naruto's heirs are also coming. I figured you could use some warning before they showed up. I don't think you've met the Uzumaki heirs yet. Ichigo is rather quiet but Ame… she's fiercely protective of Naruto and very perceptive. She's going to catch on that there's history between the two of you."

Sasuke couldn't care less as he returned to his book.

"Tomu, you've been cleaning for hours," Mushi said as she stepped out of the bathroom with a robe on. Her hair was wet but it didn't stop her from dripping water on Tomu as she crouched over him scrubbing a stain that was not there off the carpet. "Come to bed."

"If we make it to bed," Tomu whispered rather loudly. Then Tomu pressed Mushi into the counter and dug kisses into her neck.

Sasuke frowned when Tomu activated his sharingan.

"If you can't manage to activate it properly, you have no right to use the sharingan as if it was a camera."

Tomu finally came up for breath with a laugh. "Don't tell me you've never used the sharingan for sex?"

Sasuke's thoughts darkened, and then lectured, "The sharingan is used for battle."

"That would certainly be a waste of it. Who doesn't want to remember every detail of their partner's orgasm? And it makes it so easy to masturbate especially on long missions. It's as if you're really there."

Mushi leaned forward with a wicked grin. "You missed me in Ame?"

"Every fucking day," Tomu said. "I'd use that time when we did it on the couch of the Kage's office," Tomu immediately swiveled his head toward Sasuke. "Naruto shall never know about this."

"I remember," Mushi said thickly. It didn't take long after that for Tomu to sweep her in his arms and they stumbled giggling like two lovesick teenagers pawing at each other. They forgot to close their bedroom door.

Sasuke quickly got up and slammed shut the door to his room. He really should be used to this by now. The longer Sasuke spent with them and the more they grew comfortable around his presence, the more they forgot he was in the room.

It was uncomfortable the amount of intimacy those two engaged in on a daily basis. His parents were never so hands-on with each other. Sometimes he wondered if that was an Uchiha conditioning – the lack of intimacy not a personality trait but one socialized by the clan.

Sasuke stared unseeing into the page and couldn't help but to be brought back to memories of when he's used the sharingan in that manner. He curled in the bed and wished Orochimaru would stop haunting him.

* * *

A knock came at the door. Sasuke's chest clenched. He forced himself to keep his eye on the page as Tomu answered the door and let in the Uzumaki crew. Sasuke didn't know what to expect of the heirs, but hadn't anticipated a teenage girl with red hair shaved on one side and the red eyes of the Yuuhi studying him. The younger boy was as dark as those native to Cloud Country with ritualistic scarring all over his skin.

Naruto sure attracted the strange ones.

Then Naruto came through the door. Sasuke hadn't seen him in months and tonight he had left the hat and cloak in the office. Naruto caught his eye and motioned out to the balcony. Sasuke frowned, sat the book down and followed. When Sasuke stepped into the chill winds of winter, Naruto immediately said, "Don't be a dick in front of my kids," then turned on his heels and walked back into the house.

Sasuke crossed his arms, offended that Naruto would think he'd step out of line first. He returned inside as Mushi and Tomu set the table.

"Who's this?" Ame immediately asked.

"My uncle, Torio. He's visiting from the countryside," Tomu explained.

Sasuke watched as the teenager narrowed her eyes, confused and with scrutiny. The meal began but Ame did not move her eyes from his face.

"Ame, it's impolite to stare," Naruto chided.

Ame asked, "Is he really your uncle Tomu? You've never mentioned an uncle before."

"Ame, S-class," Naruto said with the sudden steel voice of a parent.

One word and the teenager stopped her line of questioning. She pouted without another word and slowly began to eat.

Naruto and Sasuke reached for the salad bowl at the same time. They glared at each other annoyed as each attempted to stubbornly wrestle for the bowl. Then Sasuke smirked, Naruto realized what he was going to do but too late as Sasuke abruptly let go. Lettuce and dressing smattered full force into Naruto's face.

Ame snorted a laugh. This was the moment that Tomu realized he might have made a mistake.

Sasuke feigned concern as he grabbed a napkin, reached over and stuffed it into Naruto's face. Ame was crouched over the table laughing as Naruto attempted to slap Sasuke away without making a scene, suddenly giving up and punching Sasuke in the face. Sasuke fell back over his chair. Naruto stood and walked into the bathroom.

Sasuke picked himself up from the floor and spat blood into a napkin.

"Dad's not usually like that," Ame apologized through her hysterical tears. "Tomu, he needs some ice."

"He's fine," Tomu muttered.

Naruto exited the bathroom clean of salad and dressing and changed into a new T-shirt. Sasuke sarcastically commented, "I didn't think the Hokage went around casually punching civilians in the face."

"Ass," Naruto outright said as he sat back down at the table.

"Dad," Ame said, "What's going on? Who is this guy?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's just get through this dinner." Naruto said sourly as he slammed a knife down into a piece of steak.

"Ame," Ichigo voice was sudden with an unexpected depth, "The picture."

Ame's eyes widened as she slammed her hands down and rose from her seat. She suddenly whipped a kunai from her pocket and disappeared from sight.

Naruto sighed.

She returned with the silver picture frame swiped right from the Kage's desk. Then she stuffed the photo right beside Sasuke's face. His frown matched the one in the picture.

"His name is Sasuke Uchiha. He used to be on my genin team. Currently he is secretly working for Konoha." Naruto immediately explained as the gears turned in Ame's head.

"You're him." Ame said. Sasuke didn't like whatever that implied.

"Yeah," Tomu added, "He's the one that left Naruto to die at the Valley of the End."

"I saved his life," Sasuke snapped, tired of repeating himself.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Naruto scoffed. "You left me in that valley to die."

Sasuke swiveled his head toward Naruto. The idiot. "No, I didn't."

"I would have bled out if Kakashi hadn't gotten there first."

Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows confused. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly realized where Naruto's misunderstanding was coming from. "I saved your life."

"How the fuck? By not putting a raikiri through my chest?"

"Yes," Sasuke said and couldn't comprehend why Naruto didn't find it so obvious.

Naruto gave Sasuke an incredulous expression. "You're fucking insane."

"I'm insane? If you thought so then why did you bother chasing after me for all those years?" Sasuke questioned smugly as he crossed his arms.

"I chased after you because you were my friend and because I wanted answers. I wanted," Naruto clenched his hand. "It doesn't even matter anymore. You don't matter anymore."

Those words tore at Sasuke and tore at the thin control he had over his anger. Sasuke launched himself over the table.

A kick slammed into Naruto's ribs. A punch slammed into Sasuke's face. The sudden impact of a rasengan and raikiri blew both men to opposite ends of the apartment and through the walls.

Sasuke landed on the snow covered streets. Suddenly, Tomu appeared before him, grabbed him by the shirt and teleported both of them to Sasuke's room in the ANBU underground.

"Get off of me," Sasuke snapped.

"There's no point going back. Ame has taken Naruto to another side of Konoha," Tomu said as he crossed his arms. "Whatever this is between the two of you is crazy. We are going to stay here until you calm down. Then we are going to go back. Then you and Naruto are going to talk like adults and not children shouting at each other. You are never going to work things out if you always resort to throwing fists first."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but he knew if Naruto was somewhere else, there was no point in fighting his way back. He crossed his arms and sat down on the bed. Once he got his sporadic anger under control, he nodded his head, conceding that although punching Naruto in the face made him feel better it never really resolved anything.

When they hiraishined back, Naruto was already sitting down on the couch with a stubborn frown.

"Please Daddy, what can it hurt?" Ame asked as she weighed her chin on his shoulder. Naruto pouted in turn, but eventually relented to the bright begging eyes of his daughter. He stood up, glanced at Sasuke, and motioned to the privacy of Sasuke's bedroom.

Sasuke closed the door behind them for a little bit of privacy but he knew the others were probably listening intently behind the wood in case another fight broke out.

Naruto turned toward the wall, refusing to look at Sasuke and asked, "Why should I care?"

Sasuke pulled his lips in the comfort of his familiar frown.

"I don't care if you do," Sasuke spat bitterly but knew that was a lie once he said it. Then he said, "If I had known you were dying... I thought you would be fine. I didn't know I had left you there to die."

"For years I tried to convince myself that it was an accident you left me there," Naruto whispered, "or that somehow you knew Kakashi would make it to me just in time but eventually I thought I had realized the truth. So after all these years, you're fucking telling me you weren't trying to kill me?"

"At first. But then I realized… During the massacre Itachi told me that I had to kill my best friend to gain the power that he had. But I decided that giving into Itachi was letting him win. I refused to choose Itachi's path. I refused to kill you. All those things that I know now I didn't know then. To me, I was saving you from myself."

"Why haven't you ever said anything? Why haven't you ever explained any of this?" Naruto demanded angrily only to suddenly realize when have they ever had time to sit down and talk? There was no time to say any of these things between the chasing and the fighting.

"I chose Orochimaru because of you."

"Don't you dare put that on me," Naruto seethed. "You chose Orochimaru. If you cared about me, you would have chosen me," Naruto snapped. "You could have chosen me!"

Sasuke flinched against the brunt of Naruto's anger but he continued because there was so much more, "I look back on it now and realize I would have never defied my brother if it wasn't for what you had come to mean to me. I didn't realize it then, and I was stupid and confused and still had my brother hanging over me, but I never would have went to Orochimaru and stayed away if I didn't love you. I loved you, Naruto."

"Stop," Naruto snarled. "Stop, this isn't fair."

And suddenly all Sasuke could hear was their proximity. Between their arguing and bickering, somehow they had closed the gap. Sasuke breathed in the heat between them. Then he narrowed his eyes at the growing erection and wondered what would happen if he was to push Naruto into the bed.

Sasuke leaned forward, not knowing whether he missed Naruto more as his lover or his friend.

Naruto placed a steady hand against Sasuke's chest, holding Sasuke's lips inches from his.

"Sasuke," Naruto drew in a breath and said with sincerity, letting a drip of honesty and vulnerability spill between them. "Maybe it could have been… maybe if you had never left Konoha, maybe if you had turned back with me at the Valley of the End all those years ago, then maybe… yeah, we could have been. But there's too much between us now."

Naruto added strength to his hand and easily pushed Sasuke back. Sasuke tried to settle. "As friends?"

Naruto shook his head. "There's too much between us now."

Sasuke stared stunned in the darkness of the bedroom as Naruto moved forward and passed him toward the door. Then Sasuke quickly swiveled and caught him by the arm.

"Why have you given up on me?" Sasuke demanded.

"Because I'm not the same Naruto you left all those years ago in the valley." Naruto turned and stared at the impassive wood of the door. "When you've been burned alive, accidently kill a teammate, accused of assassinating a woman you love, watch as another marry someone else, and your wife jump five stories out of a window and take away your unborn child, you change. I'm sorry Sasuke, we will never be what we once were."

For a moment, Sasuke saw that same bitter and depressed man that Iraiya had been. Then Sasuke realized that Iraiya had never been a separate person, but torn apart and glued back onto the original in random places.

Naruto wrenched his arm free from Sasuke's loose grip and left out the door, closing it to the sound of a nail hammered into a coffin.

And Sasuke stood there, realizing that Naruto had stopped chasing him a long time ago.

It was over.

* * *

**x**

* * *

**…we will never be what we once were.**

* * *

 


	9. The Snake

"Something happened," Dr. Yamanaka discerned as he watched his patient, even moodier than usual, burn a glower into the wall. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Sasuke had nothing to say about Naruto Uzumaki. If Naruto was done with him, Sasuke could certainly do the same. He was no stranger to severing ties. After all, he was the one who put a raikiri though their relationship in the first place. It's what he always wanted – for Naruto to stop chasing him and for Naruto to stop burdening him with his morals and expectations he'd never be able to meet.

No, he did not want to talk about Naruto.

"If you keep everything trapped in your head, it's going to fester," the Doctor warned. Sasuke sent a threatening glare but the Doctor had gotten used to them quickly. He nodded politely. "We'll talk about it when you're ready. How have you've been managing you anger? Any outbursts lately?"

Sasuke immediately flashed back to the dinner when he and Naruto had torn a hole through Tomu's apartment.

"No."

"That's good to hear. Is the routine working?"

The Doctor had suggested that Sasuke should settle into a routine. Sasuke found that having the power to control the small everyday things in life, helped him to exert better control over himself… supposedly. Naruto was certainly always a force out of his control.

Then Sasuke suddenly asked, like an itch he finally had to scratch, "Have you ever lost a friend?"

"As a member of a clan and living in a ninja village, yes, I have lost many friends," Dr. Yamanaka answered without pause.

"No, not death… just lost."

Dr. Yamanaka was silent for a moment as he attempted to decipher his patient's words, then asked gently. "I apologize, I need a little more context. Let's start with the basics. What is a friend?"

Sasuke huffed. He hated these exercises. But it was easier than talking about Naruto. Sasuke leaned forward as he searched for the right metaphor. "A friend is a katana. It's an extension of yourself, carried at your side, and dulls with neglect. It can be broken, neglected, or lost. Some katana are unreliable, some are more valuable than others but only a few are truly shaped to your hand. Losing Naruto was like losing Kusanagi. I lost a part of myself."

After a moment the Doctor replied, "What happened to Kusanagi?"

Sasuke frowned. "Kusunagi broke. I hadn't taken proper care of it. When it was no longer useful to me I tossed it aside. But I should have kept a hold of the broken pieces even if they were going to weigh me down. I should found a way to fix them. That's what I did to Naruto. I tossed him aside when I no longer thought I needed him. "

"Sometimes friendships come to an end," the Doctor admitted mournfully. "Some aren't meant to last and it's a hard thing to come to terms with. How did you come to terms with the loss of Kusanagi?"

"I trekked across the world to find another sword of the same caliber. A ninja can't survive in this world without a reliable weapon."

"Or a reliable friend."

Sasuke paused. "Hn."

"I notice you have a new sword at your side now."

"Zatoichi," Sasuke acknowledged. "It's not Kusanagi. It will never be Kusanagi but it'll do."

Then Sasuke wrung his hands and found he could only ask this question in a roundabout way. "Do you think Kusanagi can be found and mended?"

"You know what they say about things that are lost: they have a habit of showing up when you stop looking for them. In regards to mending it? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the process on how to repair a sword."

But Sasuke was. Sasuke knew first-hand the process of mending a broken sword. It was often a difficult and expensive undertaking. It took time, effort, and the right tools. It took the right amount of heat and the right amount of pressure. It was a process that could possibly take years to gather all the right materials and had no guarantee of success. For many a blacksmith, it saved a lot of time and effort to simply make a new one.

But there will never be another sword like Kusanagi.

* * *

Sasuke limped toward his ANBU room. Lately, Captain Tiger have concocted all sorts of challenges to further hone Sasuke's swordplay. Yesterday, it was one vs. hundred and no chakra. Today, it was a blindfold and earmuffs. It felt as if these daily challenges were the only thing keeping him sane.

Sasuke opened the unlocked door. Sasuke was quickly becoming one of the most feared agents in Konoha based solely on his performance in the sparring rooms and he was rather secure in the knowledge that no wanted to fuck with him. So what was the point of locking his door?

Sasuke walked in to find an ANBU the size of a prepubescent boy studying his room.

"You're lost," Sasuke told the white mask of a weasel. That had to be the case because certainly no one would seek his room with intent.

The head of the ANBU twisted around his body. The mask cocked to the side and with an amused high-pitched voice asked, "I'm wounded you do not recognize me."

Sasuke's smile collapsed. He had finally found a routine: Spar in the morning with the Captain, spend the day trailing Tomu on his investigations, therapy, dinner, read, repeat. The routine kept Sasuke focused. It kept him in control.

This was not a part of the fucking routine. Sasuke glowered as he spat the name, "Orochimaru."

"It's been a long time Sasuke-kun."

The Fourth Shinobi War was the last time Sasuke had encountered Orochimaru. Even after all these years and no matter what body, Orochimaru's voice still contained a greasy smugness. Orochimaru slithered forward and invaded Sasuke's personal space as if he had a right to it. Sasuke didn't flinch when Orochimaru cupped and then palmed his groin through his pants.

Sasuke knew Orochimaru was only trying to elicit a reaction from him. Sasuke asked impassively, refusing Orochimaru any emotion. "How old?"

"This body? Probably no more than ten. Don't worry. I've been attending the academy like a good little boy. No one else is none the wiser I'm in Konoha."

"You're a sick fuck."

Orochimaru laughed, that cruel and slimy laugh that twisted through the ears, then asked pointedly at the feel of Sasuke hardening in his pants, "Then what are you?"

Sasuke crossed his arms, unable to control his body to the skillful extent he could control his face. He fixed Orochimaru with an impatient glare that could be felt through the ANBU mask. "What do you want?"

Orochimaru unbuckled the katana from Sasuke's belt and chucked it to the side of the room. Sasuke frowned at his blade's mistreatment but quelled the instinctive twitch in his hand.

"You know you always have to give me something first before I give you what you want."

There was a time Sasuke enjoyed playing Orochimaru's game, having prided himself on knowing every move his opponent was going to make. Only recently Sasuke has realized that his arrogance had been a grand delusion.

Without hesitation, Sasuke reached to grab the bottom of his shirt and took it off in a swift motion. How to play the game: first figure out what the rules were. He needed to understand why Orochimaru finally crawled out of his hole to suddenly appear in Konoha here in his ANBU room.

"You always had a delicious expression when you're calculating your next move," Orochimaru observed.

Sasuke clenched his jaw and then pulled down his pants and boxers. Sasuke folded the articles of clothing and sat them symmetrical atop his desk. He didn't react when Orochimaru's hand wrapped around his hip. Orochimaru caressed up muscles and abs not in a sexual manner, but like checking the health of a stock animal. Orochimaru ghosted his hand over the scars Sasuke had collected over the years and then examined Sasuke's four fingers with distaste.

"My research has proven that a shinobi's body peaks at twenty years," Orochimaru mourned, and then with a sudden temper, snatched Sasuke by the hair and forced him to the floor. Like a brief spark, the heat melted from Orochimaru's hand and returned soft.

Sasuke breathed in anticipation and closed his eyes to the slide of Orochimaru's tongue up his skin. Orochimaru always had a fetish of fucking Sasuke face-to-face with his sharingan activated – which left Sasuke to remember every sexual encounter with Orochimaru in detail.

Every one of those encounters had been a reverence, a worship.

Sasuke leaned his head back and widened his legs to give Orochimaru access to his body. He shivered in anticipation when thin fingers teased the tight ring of muscles to the entrance of his lust. Sweat dripped at the top of Sasuke's lip and he was relieved the suffocating ANBU mask muffled his eager breaths.

Then, Orochimaru snatched at the mask and recoiled at the sight of Sasuke's honey-colored eyes. "You've failed me, Sasuke-kun."

A cold shock hit Sasuke as Orochimaru stood with a sneer. "When I finally came to collect you at your prime, you were already ruined."

The shock gradually turned into a hard molten anger at the realization that _Orochimaru_ was rejecting him. It felt as keen and sharp as Naruto's rejection weeks ago. Emotions cracked through Sasuke's face.

He wasn't special anymore. He wasn't perfect anymore.

"So what? Now I'm just another one of your failed experiments?" Sasuke demanded, angry at the thought of being dragged down to the same level with the likes of Karin, Juugo, Suigetsu, and Kabuto.

Orochimaru, in the body of a child, towered over Sasuke with disgust and derision. "You're no use to me anymore."

Sasuke broke. He remembered every reverent caress, every teenage orgasm under Orochimaru's guidance, and every soft touch that stroked his ego and granted him power in ways he didn't know power could be used before. Power – that's what he always wanted. Orochimaru gave it to him in more ways than one.

Now he felt powerless and helpless and desperate.

How dare Orochimaru disrupt everything and not even acknowledge him? He snatched at Orochimaru's wrist in panic. "I can still be of use to you."

Once he said the words, Sasuke suddenly realized those were the same desperate words of Kabuto. Sasuke had hated that man for his desperation and inferiority.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed and asked mockingly, "Can you? You used to be a God. We were once free. No one could tell us what to do, what power to pursue or what jutsu was too dangerous. But now you're just a whore – worse, Konoha's whore."

Orochimaru peeled off Sasuke's fingers and then formed a series of hand seals. The released clone revealed a small grass snake wiggling on the floor. Sasuke crushed the snake with the flat of his hand and anchored himself against his shaking arm.

Orochimaru's departure was like that of a storm, taking with it all the conflicted emotions that had struck Sasuke with the unexpectedness of a lightning bolt. Now that he was free of Orochimaru's influence, he rushed to collect the pieces of his dignity off the floor. He threw on his clothes and vaulted out of the room.

Sasuke barreled into the ANBU break room

"What took you so long?" Fox asked from where he lounged against the desk with the local newspaper in one hand. Usually he waited in the break room for Sasuke to clean-up from his morning spar with the Captain. Sasuke wasn't usually this late.

Fox's eyes snapped wide when Sasuke took a hold of him by the shoulders, and then literally leaned forward in relief. They were so close Fox could feel Sasuke's racing heartbeat and wondered what had brought on the sudden need for proximity.

"Is something wrong?" Fox asked nervously.

"Training room, now," Sasuke demanded.

Sasuke literally dragged Fox into the closest training room even though he knew nothing would ever prepared Tomu for Orochimaru. Sasuke was going to have to guard Tomu twenty-four seven and ensure that Orochimaru never makes contact. Because Tomu would undoubtedly lose if he was to ever play the game.

* * *

The moment Tomu looked away, Sasuke created a shadow clone. The clone trained Tomu while the real Sasuke left the ANBU underground. Sasuke came to a stop before the open gates of Konoha's Ninja Academy. He never thought he'd ever be at these gates again.

It was still early morning and the first bell of the day has yet to ring. Children were running by him teasing and racing each other to class. Several gave him curious glances but they were ninja-in-training and didn't dare ask what business an ANBU had at the Academy.

Sasuke navigated the hallways by memory until he entered the open door of the administrative office. Sasuke wasn't surprised at all to find that Iruka was now the Headmaster of the Academy.

Iruka was berating a child, something about the inappropriateness of a Fart no Jutsu. Whatever it was, Sasuke did not have the time for it. Sasuke quickly cleared his throat to get his former teacher's attention. Iruka looked up and was taken aback by the sight of an ANBU agent in his office. Quickly, Iruka dismissed the kid to his class.

"Can I help you?" Iruka asked. He still had that same top knot hairstyle and even though he was only in his mid-thirties, quite a few gray hairs peeked through the brown.

"I am searching for an Academy student that might be essential to my current investigation," Sasuke lied smoothly. Even though Orochimaru had worn a mask, Sasuke hoped he had enough information to locate the identity of Orochimaru's vessel. "I am looking for a student about the age of ten, green short-cropped hair, height about four feet three inches, smells of peonies, and had a mole on the knuckle of his right hand."

Iruka stared. The scar over his nose stretched as his eyes widened. He never forgot a student and even though the voice was deeper, it hadn't changed all that much. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke drew back at the sudden recognition and for several moments they stared at each other awkwardly. Finally Iruka gathered himself and said, "I knew Naruto would bring you back someday."

Sasuke suddenly felt very exhausted. He's had one too many meetings with apparitions from his past of late. Sasuke turned on his feet, threw open the door, and stormed down the hallway. He released a huff of annoyance when Iruka ran to follow.

"Sasuke," Iruka said outside the privacy of his office. "The student you're looking for is Norio Takada. This is a file of all his personal information."

Sasuke snatched the file from Iruka's hand and flipped through it. "Has he been acting strange recently?"

"Not that I can tell but he did miss school yesterday."

"What can you tell me about him?"

Iruka scratched the back of his head. He typically knew a great deal about the students that came through the Academy. "Norio is a bit of an outsider so he doesn't have many friends. He's a loner but that's attributed more to personality reasons."

Orochimaru had chosen his vessel carefully – a loner, someone who no one would take note of if acting strange. Sasuke memorized the boy's home address and returned the folder.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke's eye twitched and hoped Iruka didn't keep him much longer. He had a snake to flush out.

"I've seen a lot of students come through this academy. Quite frankly, most of them are dead. I'm glad you've returned to Konoha."

Sasuke's hands tightened into his fists and remembered Orochimaru's accusation of him being Konoha's whore. Sasuke seethed, "I returned to family. I didn't return to Konoha."

"Even after all this time you still hate Konoha?"

Itachi had loved it. His clan had loved it enough to sacrifice their lives for it. That was enough not to burn it to the ground but that didn't mean he had to love it as well.

Sasuke walked away from the Academy that had never been a challenge, had never stimulated him or taught him anything he hadn't learned from books or self-study. It only served to remind him the brutal fact that Orochimaru was the best teacher he's ever had.

* * *

Sasuke knocked on the door. The parents were a mixed civilian and ninja household but the moment they saw the mask, both broke down into tears. Norio Takada hadn't come home from school the other day and the parents immediately reported it in. There was already a hunter-nin squad out looking for the missing boy.

"Wait, you're not carrying an envelope. Did you find him?" The father suddenly asked with a held breath.

"I came to ask a few more questions," Sasuke replied. He could tell them the truth. He knew the boy was as good as dead, but that would raise too many questions, and raising the alarm might be exactly a part of Orochimaru's plan. "Was your son acting strange recently?"

"Not that we were aware of. What happened? You must know something. Please, anything."

"The investigation is still inconclusive. I'm sorry to have bothered you," Sasuke said quickly and got out of there. He found it uncomfortable facing the parent's grief and despair.

The boy was a dead-end.

Sasuke decided to scope out Orochimaru's old hangouts. There were several places in Konoha even the Third Hokage never found. Sasuke went by Orochimaru's childhood home but it had been knocked down and rebuilt as a grocery store. Sasuke stopped by Orochimaru's old lab, the same lab the Third Hokage had caught the Snake experimenting on live subjects.

The lab equipment had been cleared away. Dust collected in the empty room filled with storage boxes. There were several footprints in the dust, which suggested several personnel passed through every day.

Sasuke stopped and narrowed his eye on a small footprint that could only belong to a pubescent boy.

Sasuke scanned the room knowing that whatever he was looking for it had to be something even a Hyuuga was likely to miss. Orochimaru had been doing experiments in Konoha for years before he was caught. No doubt hiding from the Hyuuga was a skill he has developed.

Sasuke turned when a random chuunin came in and placed down a storage crate. "You," Sasuke demanded the man's attention, "have you seen an ANBU with a Weasel mask?"

"Huh? Weasel? A lot of ANBU pass through here."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, immediately annoyed by the man's simpleness. It was such a chore to talk to people. "Have you seen anything strange around here?"

"Strange things happen around here all the time," The chuunin answered, just as annoyed by Sasuke's abrasiveness.

"Like fucking what?" Sasuke snapped and didn't understand why the chuunin couldn't just answer the next logical question without him having to waste breath.

"Am I under investigation? What division are you with? Do you have papers?" The chuunin suddenly asked.

Sasuke sucked in a breath. Fox had his methods. He had his own. Sasuke stormed forward, the chuunin reacted too slow and coughed on the forearm Sasuke thrust against his neck. Sasuke pressed his katana forward and cut through the flack jacket.

"No more bullshit," Sasuke snapped. "Tell me everything or I cut your head off."

"You might work directly for the Kage but you guys can't do whatever the fuck you like. I'm reporting you in."

Lightning whistled like annoyed birds down the blade.

"Alright, alright," the chuunin conceded. "Everyone knows weird things happen around here all the time. Right now it's used as a storage room for non-perishables and blankets in case of a large evacuation. From what I understand back during the Shodaime's reign this entire area used to house all of the S-class documents but the administration moved them when they needed a bigger space. Because of that, chakra tree wood line these walls. Sometimes people get lost in a genjutsu around here. Rumor has it that even the Snake of the Sannin used the weird fluctuation of chakra in this area to hide his experiments."

"That's enough," Sasuke pulled back and the chuunin dropped to the floor.

The man coughed as he caught his breath. "Fucking ANBU, I'm still reporting-"

Sasuke withdrew the katana from the chuunin's throat and kicked the corpse to the ground. Then he proceeded to delicately wipe the blood from the blade. He couldn't afford to be reported and someone asking the wrong questions.

Sasuke quickly disposed of the body with a fire jutsu. Whatever, once everything was settled and if someone should ask - Orochimaru did it.

Once that matter was dealt with, Sasuke searched around the room. Orochimaru did love his secrets, especially secret doors and tunnels. Sasuke pooled chakra in his hands and washed the blue light of it over the walls. That's when he found it, a small seal revealed in the light of his chakra.

Sasuke hoped Orochimaru was too smug to change his favorite passwords after all these years. Sasuke traced a line of chakra over the seal spelling the kanji for, 'snake'. The stone clicked. A small part of the stone wall effortlessly and silently slid back. Sasuke crouched low to pass through the door and stepped into a room that smelled of death.

Dust was almost non-existent on the floors and shelves that surrounded the lab. Obviously, it's been well used. Books were strewn out over the tables and some were bookmarked to a page. A candle was still burning in the stand.

Sasuke came to a stop and looked down at the shedded skin of the prepubescent boy, abandoned just a few hours ago.

This meant one thing: Orochimaru has perfected his Vanishing Facial Copy Technique. Orochimaru could steal more than just the face and could now steal the entire body.

Which meant Orochimaru could change his scent, his chakra signature, his entire body structure at any given time without limitations. This ability made it almost impossible for anyone, even a hunter-nin to track him down.

Sasuke left the body rotting and searched through the laboratory. In a closet he found another shedded skin, it had grayed and dried from time but Sasuke could still make out the details of the man that it used to be. Judging by how old the skin seemed, Sasuke realized Orochimaru has probably been in Konoha for months without anyone knowing.

By why? And for what end? What was the Snake after? Tomu? The sharingan?

Sasuke knew firsthand that Orochimaru wasn't the type of person to take what he wanted by force. He prefers to manipulate, to trick you into giving him the very thing he wants. If Orochimaru wanted Tomu, he'd figure out a way to make Tomu come to him.

Sasuke stopped and studied the open bookmarked page of a book. It was about the history of the rinnegan. Sasuke gathered it up and began storing all the books Orochimaru seemed to have taken an interest in, including one on seals, the Sage Hagoromo, and... porn?

Sasuke took one more look around the room, making sure he hadn't missed anything, and then burned the entire fucking lab to the ground. Sasuke would have felt better about it all if he didn't have an inkling feeling that Orochimaru had left all of this stuff for him to find and had already taken all the important items with him. And that the only stuff he left behind was the shit to fuck with Sasuke's head.

* * *

"You really asked Killer Bee to DJ the wedding?" Mushi asked as Tomu bounced around the apartment like a child gifted their first kunai.

"Killer Bee only knows my ANBU persona so I begged Naruto to ask. Bee said yes! I already know which tracks I want him to do and everything. I spent the entire day making the list."

"That's great but I thought you were supposed to look into caterers today?"

"Huh? Oh... I forgot."

"Tomu, I will use every single one of your cassettes as target practice if you do not concentrate. We still don't have a caterer or a place for the reception. You were the one who wanted to get married before the baby is born. Sit down and be still."

"Sorry," Tomu mumbled. He sat down for three seconds, and then leaned forward and whispered, "Guess who's going to DJ our wedding?"

"Tomu!"

Sasuke had gotten used to tuning out their voices, especially when he had work in front of him. It had gotten so consuming that Sasuke was forced to tell Tomu that he was working on a project for the Captain to explain all the books and files that he needed for his secret investigation on Orochimaru.

He was getting a headache. Nothing seemed to be connected. Seals had nothing to do with the rinnegan and nothing to do with porn. He's poured over every single page of everything that was in Orochimaru's lab - nothing.

Sasuke looked over at the porn book entitled, "The Hokage and the Missing-Nin."

He hadn't looked at it yet and honestly didn't expect to find much.

With nothing else to go on, Sasuke reached and hunched over the black book away from Tomu and Mushi who were discussing various catering options. Thankfully, Mushi immediately eliminated Ichiraku.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched once he opened the book. It was quite literally a romanticized and erotic account of Naruto chasing him around the world. It was stupid. And why would Orochimaru have something like this? What was the point? And how did Orochimaru even know about him and Naruto?

There were two bookmarked pages. He flipped the pages and landed at the end of the book to the scene of a wedding. It was confirmation to what Sasuke or anyone who knew even a little about Orochimaru could have guessed. The guy once attacked Konoha during the genin exams. He loved big events and would be just smug enough to make his move during Tomu's wedding. It wasn't new information.

Then Sasuke turned to the second page folded inside at the corner. He and Naruto were fighting and then quickly fucking in the rain with the hovering shadow of Ame's four-faced tower.

No.

Sasukes hands shook. The book dropped to the floor. Sasuke rushed to the bathroom and slammed closed the door. He twisted the knob, turned on the sink, and grabbed a towel. Frantically, Sasuke scratch the toweled against his neck, scrubbing so hard the skin began to peel and blood began to flow down his arm.

Somehow, Orochimaru knew everything that had happened in Ame.

"Cousin, are you alright?" Tomu's voice at the door snapped Sasuke from his panic. Sasuke stared at the blood, breathing heavy, knowing that somehow Orochimaru has been watching him all this time for years.

Sasuke braced his hand against the counter, then he summoned a fire jutsu. Sasuke gritted his teeth against the pain as he tried to burn the seal that Orochimaru once imprinted on his neck. Even though Itachi had dispelled the seal, he still felt it.

Orochimaru in his skin.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Dr. Yamanaka asked.

Sasuke had sat down today. It was the first indicator to Dr. Yamanaka that something was wrong.

"It's important for you to learn how to process and put your emotions to words." Dr. Yamanaka encouraged.

"I feel…" He felt like Itachi standing over a clan of corpses. He felt like the moment of realization when he lost his sharingan. He couldn't find the words but could only hopelessly grasp at the turbulence consuming him. Sasuke dropped his head in his hand and whispered, "Orochimaru was right. I am nothing."

"Sasuke," Dr. Yamanaka said with a solid weight to his voice. "Orochimaru's psychological profile is that of a psychopath. The fact of the matter is, he manipulated a twelve-year old child and capitalized on the child vulnerabilities and insecurities that were born from a deeply traumatic event. You are a victim."

"I was not a victim," Sasuke snapped in anger. "I went to Orochimaru willingly. During the war, I brought him back to life willingly. I fucked him willingly. I-" Sasuke paused and then admitted to himself, "I loved him willingly."

Orochimaru had been his teacher, something of a father figure, and in those dark moments when power was all Sasuke hungered for, Orochimaru was the only person to truly understand that starving aching hunger. Even better than Naruto, Orochimaru not only understood but supported his darkness.

"Power and control is not love. It is manipulation," Dr. Yamanaka corrected.

"All love is manipulation," Sasuke declared as he stood and began to pace the room. "Itachi, the one I loved the most, betrayed me. Naruto has rejected me. Orochimaru is disgusted by me. They all have manipulated me. Either you're the one in the relationship with all the power or they end up hurting you."

Dr. Yamanaka whispered. "What about Tomu and Mushi? That's not how they love."

"They're only children," Sasuke sneered. "They don't know any better. They haven't gotten hurt yet."

Dr. Yamanaka waited for Sasuke to calm back down. Sasuke closed his eyes, leaned his hands against the desk, and stilled in the scent of lavender.

"If Orochimaru is in Konoha, shouldn't you tell the Hokage?"

"No."

"But if he's after the sharingan, wouldn't it be a matter of Konoha's security? The last time Orochimaru was in Konoha he raised four Kages from the dead. The time before that, he disrupted a genin exam and killed a Kage."

"All of this is between Orochimaru and I. This is our game. I've defeated Orochimaru once. I can do it again."

"Did you defeat me?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. He whirled around and in a cold horror watched as Dr. Yamanaka began to peel down his skin to reveal Orochimaru twisted grin underneath. Sasuke stumbled back, unprepared and violated that Orochimaru would attack him in what had become a safe place for his thoughts.

Orochimaru held out his hand. "Follow me. I can give you all the power you've ever wanted. I can make you a god again."

Sasuke should have attacked but he could only stare at Orochimaru's offering hand.

"Become what you were always meant to be. Take my hand, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke stepped forward. Power.

Sasuke reached out and when he finally grasped Orochimaru's hand, the pale limb morphed into a scaled emerald snake. Sharp fangs bit deep into his arm.

The sound of Sasuke's scream followed him as he snapped awake. Sweat clung sticky to his body. His heart was racing in his chest. A cold shiver ran through his spine as he stared vacantly in the darkness of what he was relieved to realized was his bedroom.

Sasuke dragged himself out of the bed, stumbled toward the bathroom and splash water over his face and through his hair. When he looked up, those honey-colored eyes Naruto has cursed him with stared back as if always a visual reminder of what he no longer had.

Then Sasuke remembered and frantically looked down at his arm. A shivering sigh of relief escaped his lips at the sight of unbroken skin. It was only a dream but the pain of the bite still pulsed through his arm.

When Sasuke left the bathroom, he knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He had left all his research in the living room. The past week had been nothing but dead-ends. He's been to every porn shop in Konoha but couldn't find anyone who recognized the book or when it was bought. He's gone through every record of every citizen living in Konoha but couldn't find anyone matching the description of the second skin in Orochimaru's office.

Dead-ends and the wedding drew ever closer.

Sasuke stopped and forgot that Hohei was crashing the night on the couch. More and more often Hohei would be invited to dinner and end up staying the night. Evidently, Hohei sleeping over had been a common occurrence before Sasuke had invaded their lives. The guest room had actually been Hohei's room. Sasuke supposed this is what a former genin team who actually liked each other looked like.

Sasuke reached down for his notes and paused when his eyes roamed over the arc of Hohei' figure accentuated by the luminescent light of a crescent moon. And briefly, he imagined what it would be like to drive into the Hyuuga's ass and assert his dominance over the inferior doujutsu. It was a temptation, an offer as tempting as Orochimaru's outstretched hand offering him power.

And like in his dream, Sasuke found himself stepping forward with a starving aching hunger. He stood over Hohei's sleeping form with predatory focus. With one swift decision, he determined he was going to break the Hyuuga until he was nothing, until someone existed that was even less than he.

The moment Sasuke straddled Hohei over the couch, with all the alertness of a ninja, Hohei's eyes snapped open. He reached for his glasses but grasped at air when the hiraishin technique sent them to Sasuke's ANBU room. It took only a second for Hohei to realize ill intent and turn with a Jyuuken strike.

Sasuke countered it easily. Hohei's eyes narrowed in confusion, "Tomu?"

"You are blind."

The moment Sasuke spoke, the Hyuuga immediately attacked but was at a disadvantage as he was unable to properly use his Jyuuken strikes while straddled to the bed at such a close distance.

It took a second for Hohei to process his disadvantage and then sent a shot of chakra of out every single tenketsu point. It blindsided Sasuke and sent him crashing up into the ceiling of the room. Sasuke quickly recovered with a mad grin as Hohei flipped out the bed and immediately began a series of seals. Sasuke met the water jutsu with fire and hot steam enveloped the entire room.

Sasuke was used to fighting in the dark and no doubt the kid had his byakugan activated which leveled the field between them both. Typically one would try to maintain their distance against the Hyuuga's jyuuken style considering one hit often meant the end of a fight, but Sasuke grabbed his katana from the sword stand and met the boy head-on.

Hand-to-hand seemed idiotic in a sword fight but when Sasuke attacked, Hohei managed to slap his hand against the flat of the blade. Sasuke had to admit he was impressed as Hohei slapped away attack after attack.

Sasuke decided he would stop playing around. "Lightning Storm Jutsu."

Lightning suddenly crackled in the room and fed off the humidity in the air from the dissipated steam. Hohei twitched against the ground as electric currents stabbed through his veins. Very similar to Mushi, Sasuke determined Hohei was undoubtedly Jounin level but still completely outmatched by the S-class ninja. It was an easy victory but Sasuke savored it.

Sasuke slid the cold length of his blade up Hohei's shirt and cut it open.

"I thought I was too young for your tastes," Hohei said mockingly as quick as any ninja to turn his words into a weapon when a physical battle has failed him.

Sasuke's gaze paused on Hohei's smooth hairless chest – like the boy Orochimaru had chosen to mock him.

Hohei noted Sasuke's hesitation and dove a question to attack the open wound, "When did the great Uchiha Sasuke begin raping _boys_?"

"You're nineteen," Sasuke said the words but it didn't help the fact that mentally he very much considered anyone of Tomu's generation a child.

His byakugan still activated, Hohei replied evenly without a falter to his voice. "The high-level of strain in your eyes is from sleep deprivation. Your brain is releasing high levels of corticoliberin associated with stress. Accelerates rates of hyperventilation, heart rate, constriction of the peripheral blood vessels and vasodilation of the central vessels, increased muscle tension, and increase blood glucose are all symptoms of… fear. You are afraid."

Sasuke sucked in a breath at the sudden chill from the boy's diagnosis. It was an absurd declaration.

Hohei repeated again clinically, stating facts like a doctor, "You display all the symptoms of fear. And because you are afraid, you feel helpless. You want to overpower me because hurting others, lashing out at everything around you is the only way you've ever emotionally dealt with your fear. Rape me, but you will not break me. The fifth shinobi war couldn't, the Mist ninja couldn't, my clan couldn't, nor can you. You will not get what you think you need from me."

"Is that a challenge?" Sasuke asked darkly as he tightened a shaking fist around Hohei's torn shirt. He suddenly despised this kid. Sasuke leaned forward with a realization. Sasuke's eyes swelled with madness as he summoned a flame of chakra to his hand. "I can create fire so hot it rivals the sun. I can make it burn so brightly that any prolonged exposure can blind a person." Sasuke looked down at the Hyuuga. "You won't be better than me when you're no longer a Hyuuga."

Hohei's eyes widened and hinted at a crack in the Hyuuga's composure. As Sasuke's jutsu slowly became brighter and brighter, Hohei snapped his eyes closed. When Sasuke pressed his thumb against Hohei's eyelid to force them open, Hohei broke. "Please, stop. I can't lose the byakugan too. Please, what do you want?"

It was oddly satisfying to watch the Hyuuga break and beg.

Sasuke forced the eye open. Hohei released a hitched breath only to find Sasuke had canceled his jutsu. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and drilled his intent into the pale ones. "I want you to worship me."

"What?" Hohei blinked confused.

Sasuke grabbed the boy by the hair and forced him forward into a kiss. Hohei's survival instincts immediately realized what was happening and Hohei entered the kiss as if his byakugan depended on it. Sasuke groaned when the boy didn't resist like Iraiya but accepted and granted him full access into his mouth.

When they pulled apart to breathe, Sasuke licked his lips to taste the tea leaves flavoring the boy's mouth. "Yes."

That's when Sasuke realized the real reason why he couldn't accept Hohei's proposition before. Age had been just an excuse. Hohei had approached him as if they were equals. There was no such thing.

All love is manipulation.

"On your knees Hyuuga."

He needed to be in control.

"Touch yourself."

He needed to be the one with the power.

"Say my name."

He needed to never get hurt again.

The Hyuuga, on his hands and knees, moaned out as he stroked himself, "Uchiha-sama."

* * *

It was satisfying. It was very satisfying. Both the sex and the amount of sleep he got afterwards. The room smelled of sex and consumed what little of Orochimaru's presence remained in the room. For several hours, he could forget the cloud of fear Orochimaru hung over him. Unreserved, Sasuke stroke down the Hyuuga's body, studying his abs and lean hips.

Then the boy muttered, "It's still rape."

Sasuke scoffed at the boy's melodrama. "You fucked me willingly."

Sasuke wrapped a finger around the boy's short hair. It was odd. It was always his belief that the Uchiha were more powerful than their doujutsu cousins but even he couldn't deny that they often had an undeniable beauty in their grace. It was a shame this one refused his potential. "Stop cutting your hair."

At this point the boy knew better than to disagree. Instead, he whispered, "Why me?"

Sasuke supposed it was a good question. It was one he didn't have an answer to. Dr. Yamanaka probably could tell him or make him figure out one his own. Regardless, he didn't care.

"Because you were unlucky enough to be on the couch."

* * *

Sasuke thrust his dick down the Hyuuga's throat. He closed his eyes to the tight wet sensation of the boy's tongue caressing him. And right before he could cum, Sasuke tightened his hand in the boy's hair and twisted the Hyuuga chin up. The boy upturned his face in disgust when semen spurt onto his face. Sasuke shook the boy by the head threateningly until the Hyuuga masked his disgust and began to lick the semen from his lips.

Sasuke had accidentally gotten some of his own cum on his hand. He reached to the back of the boy's yukata and wiped his hand against the Hyuuga seal imprinted on the back. Finally Sasuke pulled up his tuxedo pants.

"Are you finished, Uchiha-sama?"

Sasuke looked down at the Hyuuga splattered in his cum. He remembered coming into the tent and studying the Hyuuga in his formal attire, regal with his hair up in a chonmage, and the clan symbol worn proudly on his back. It was almost a need to see the Hyuuga on his knees.

Sasuke nodded and with permission, the boy rose and walked over to the washbin to wash his face.

"Is everything alright?"

Sasuke winced annoyed when an intruder suddenly invaded the tent. He turned and gave a dismissal scoff when Hinata entered. Sasuke noted the way the boy's shoulders tensed and refused to speak before his face was completely washed. Hohei spoke smoothly, "Everything is alright Honorable High Sister."

Hinata was dressed in a kimono for the occasion and because of it, made small steps forward. She leaned against her cane when she came to a stop. Hinata lifted her head and addressed Sasuke directly, "Is everything alright?"

Sasuke shrugged and judged Hinata had probably seen what had just occurred. What was she going to do about it? "Just reminding the boy how often a Hyuuga used to get on their knees."

Hinata's cane moved slightly. Hohei rushed between them and threw himself to the ground. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the sight of Hohei bowed submissively to the ground at Hinata's feet.

"Please, I beg you, everything is alright."

"Hohei, we will discuss this matter after the wedding," Hinata said gently with a soft tremble to her voice.

Sasuke interrupted Hinata's words with a dark mutter, "I thought the Hyuuga were done regulating what dick they could put in their ass."

"I suppose you are correct." Hinata addressed Sasuke humbly as the nightshade flowers danced in her hair. "I am certainly not one to judge as I am a married woman who enjoys the Kage's dick on a daily basis."

Sasuke's jaw reached the floor. Her words were so suddenly out of character, unexpected, and a lot for Sasuke to process. Then his thoughts were stuck on the fact that Naruto was fucking this bitch every night.

Hinata nodded her head demurely before turning toward the tent door. She paused and said over her shoulder. Her voice was soft, like the tender petals of nightshade. "You still have some cum on your hand. Why don't you wipe it off this time on the Uchiha clan seal – oh, I forgot." Hinata glanced around the room at the Uzumaki seals that adorned the tent. "This is a Uzumaki wedding."

Sasuke's fist tightened as she left. He stepped forward and slammed straight into Hohei's kiss.

"Please," The boy breathed against Sasuke's lips and for the first time, the boy dragged a finger humming with chakra up the underside of Sasuke's dick. It definitely got Sasuke's attention. Sasuke couldn't hold onto his anger as he melted into the Hyuuga's ministrations.

"I know you're The Sasuke Uchiha but that's not a fight you want to get into," the boy warned. "Konoha has more than one snake."

"Is it true?" Sasuke demanded. "Does Naruto… does he…"

The Hyuuga answered nervously, "I'm sorry."

Sasuke surprised himself when instead of pushing the boy away because he wasn't Naruto and no one could ever be, he pulled the boy against him because he needed… he needed…

To hear.

To smell.

To taste.

To touch.

* * *

After Sasuke properly fucked the Hyuuga, he pulled himself up from the ground and knew he needed to start looking for Orochimaru. The wedding was going to start soon. The Hyuuga was lying on the ground. His chonmage was undone and his growing hair reached his shoulders. His skin was so pale the Sasuke could already see the bruising where Sasuke had held on too tightly. His byakugan was still active, something that Sasuke demanded him to do to make sure no one intruded on them again.

No matter what that stupid Hyuuga bitch said, no matter what they might discuss after the wedding, Sasuke promised this, "You're mine."

"Yes, Uchiha-sama," the boy whispered hoarsely.

Sasuke pulled up his pants content in knowing that this one was at least smart and understood the implications. Behind his words were a thinly veiled threat: Betray me and you're dead.

Sasuke walked outside and was suddenly jolted by how many people swelled the wedding grounds. The number of guests had grown exponentially from just an hour ago. He walked away from the best man's tent and toward the throng where the chairs were located.

Sasuke had never seen such a large wedding. The chaos of the Uzumaki Clan was making their presence known as young children monitored by the older ones ran havoc through the pre-wedding preparations. By numbers, the Aburame clan was the biggest clan in Konoha and they were all in attendance. It wasn't until the eve of the wedding when Sasuke finally felt the sheer weight of the Hyuuga-Uzumaki Alliance as the entirety of the Hyuuga clan was also in attendance for the wedding of someone who wasn't even the Uzumaki heir. Not only that, but Tomu had a lot of acquaintances among both civilians and ninja families. Suddenly various disparate pockets of Konoha had congregated of the vast lands of the Aburame compound. It was no wonder the wedding was outside. There was no building in Konoha with the ability to accommodate this many people.

The sheer size of it worried Sasuke. It was a detriment to finding Orochimaru in time. Sasuke knew for a fact that there was no way Orochimaru was missing this wedding. For the wedding, Sasuke was henged as Tomu's uncle Torio but he had his katana carefully sheathed in his formal attire.

In the corner of his eye, Naruto literally reached an arm into the four tiered-wedding cake a plucked out a small child covered in icing. The child had a mischievous smirk that left no doubt who the boy's father was. Then Sasuke whipped his head back around to the scene and reprimanded the errant thought. With further scrutiny, the white icing covered the child's orange hair and bright brown eyes. Naruto didn't have any biological children.

Naruto was a different person around his kids. He was a different person when he wore the Kage's hat. But most jarring of all, he was a different person around Sasuke – cold, sharp, bitter, and slightly resentful underneath it all.

Pink hair caught the corner of his eye. Sasuke hardly got out the way fast enough before two speeding bullets, twin boys, twisted between his feet and vaulted across the wedding chairs. But it was another shade of pink that drew his attention. He hasn't seen Sakura since he's been in Konoha but here she was dressed in a brilliant cherry blossom kimono. Sasuke immediately deflected his gaze and walked away from her position. If Iruka recognized him, she no doubt will and he did not want to have that conversation with Orochimaru on the mind.

Sasuke scanned his eyes through the crowd, searching.

"What are you looking for?"

Sasuke looked down at the boy he immediately recognized as Naruto's second heir, Ichigo. Ichigo had been pushing a Hyuuga in a wheelchair and stopped right beside Sasuke.

"You look as if something bad is going to happen," Ichigo said as if in observation.

"It's none of your…" Sasuke looked up and his attention was pulled to the priest who had just arrived. The priest had a role in the wedding but as he was not apart of the family, no one would notice if he was acting strange.

"Hyuuga, use your byakugan on the priest."

"Did this asshole just tell me what to do?" The foulest mouth-Hyuuga Sasuke has ever heard asked. They kept surprising him today. "Just because you were fucking my uncle doesn't mean you can order me around."

Her words made him realize that he did just fuck the boy right in the middle of an event where the entire Hyuuga Clan was in attendance, which to a bunch of people who could see through walls was probably akin to fucking atop the dinner table.

He didn't have time for this. Sasuke quickly threatened, "Do you want me to break your arms too?"

Ichigo immediately intertwined his fingers through her hand to prevent her from snapping her hands together for a jutsu. "Haniko-hime, byakugan please."

Haniko pouted and then activated her byakugan. "He wears granny panties under his robes and his holy book is henged."

"What's under the henge?" Sasuke quickly asked.

"I'm a fucking byakugan-user. Do these white orbs look red to you? They're not the fucking sharingan."

Sasuke placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and navigated the crowd to quickly approach the priest. The closer he got, the more he could see something black poking out of the priest's neckline. It was a bite mark, deep and formed the impression of snake fangs. Sasuke cursed and set off at a run once he realized what jutsu this was.

It was only theoretical when he was working with Orochimaru and had its basis in the soul research Orochimaru had done for his Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu. It allowed Orochimaru to inject a small part of consciousness onto someone's soul. It gave him a limited amount of control but its value was espionage and the ability to watch everything that another soul was currently experiencing.

Then the priest turned and revealed the narrowed slits of Orochimaru's pupils. He shook his head disappointed, "Always so impatient. And I was hoping to do this during the 'I do'."

The holy book Orochimaru carried unhenged into a metal bomb. Sasuke's eyes widened and recognized it was one of the missing bombs from the stash he and Tomu had found months ago. The range of the blast was going to consume the entire wedding.

Sasuke pushed himself forward while calculating the time and distance. He realize he wasn't going to make it in time. Tomu wasn't far, only inside the tent on the left side of the field. Sasuke was going to lose. He couldn't afford to lose. The stakes were too high.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto whipped around, caught sight of the bomb, and acted. He teleported to the closest person to the priest, his daughter Ame wearing a bridesmaid dress who was about to tell the priest the wedding was set to start soon.

"Wind Funnel no Jutsu." Naruto summoned a large dome of wind around the priest just as the bomb detonated. The explosion pushed against the jutsu and then sucked the flames from existence.

The jutsu dissipated and left only the burnt corpse of the priest behind. Naruto stared for several seconds before his head snapped up to stare straight at Sasuke. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Orochimaru is in Konoha."

In one second the dazed expression left Naruto's face and hardened into a cold weight. Naruto pressed his fingers to the radio in his ear. "Captain Tiger, immediately disperse the wedding. It's canceled. Captain Hound, meet me in my office. Konoha is now on an S-class Security Alert."

* * *

"Crow, how long have you known Orochimaru was in Konoha?"

Sasuke stood at attention in front of Captain Tiger who stalked around his desk with predatory fury.

"Three weeks."

The Captain snarled. "Either you make yourself useful right now or I decapitate you where you stand."

Sasuke didn't hesitate to begin describing his investigation of Orochimaru's movements.

Captain Tiger picked up the porn book Sasuke had been carrying in his pocket and placed it on his desk. "This book is from Naruto's fanclub. The reason you couldn't find the identity of the second skin in Konoha's record is because the man is an illegal immigrant. All of these things agent Fox could have told you. Furthermore, a hunter-nin squad in Orochimaru's secret lab would have been more useful than fucking burning it to the ground!"

Sasuke blinked when the Captain threw the black book at Sasuke's mask. Sasuke keenly felt the disappointment and oddly enough felt the need to explain. "I was able to determine that Orochimaru has been in Konoha for months now but I wasn't able to determine Orochimaru's exact goal. If I had mentioned something, you would have set a trap, Orochimaru would have known it was a trap, he might not have made his move. I was trying to catch him."

"To be quite frank, you're not as smart as you think you are. You are actually really fucking stupid. You see an S-class criminal in Konoha. You report that S-class criminal. No private investigations, no rogue operations, and no destroying key evidence. This is the exact same thing I went through with your brother and the fucking massacre. That's the type of shit that happens when an agent goes rogue and acts on their own without the support of the Kage."

The accusation hit Sasuke in the mask like a rasengan. "I… I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Yeah, like you thought you were doing the right when you decided to abdicate your title as a leaf ninja and go off to train with a fucking S-class missing-nin," Captain Tiger said mockingly. Flinging Sasuke's mistakes in his face, as if he had somehow forgotten them, forced Sasuke's glare to harden. "Sit the fuck down and write every single one of Orochimaru's jutsu that you know of with a description of each."

"Captain," Sasuke forced out of gritted teeth. He sat down nodded and began the long list. "It has been years since I worked with Orochimaru. My list is surely outdated."

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Captain Tiger questioned.

Sasuke hunched his head down and focused on the list. The moment Sasuke finished one page, Tiger motioned to his aide and demanded, "I want five hundred copies of this page immediately."

The aide nodded and with a jutsu Sasuke had never seen before began to perfectly replicate the pages.

When Sasuke was finished writing down all of the jutsu, he was ordered to move onto a list of poisons that Orochimaru uses and their resistances. That page was just as long. When Sasuke was finished, he looked up toward the Captain, and knew he shouldn't ask but did so anyways. "Where is Tomu?"

"Secure. Write."

When the copies were finished, Sasuke looked at the Captain uncertainly. "Now what?"

"Now we do what should have been done three weeks ago."

Sasuke and the aide followed Captain Tiger out of the room. Captain Tiger was the only Captain who could call an emergency meeting of every ANBU in Konoha, no matter what division. To accommodate the vast numbers of masks, the meeting was located in the central sparring room of the underground.

Standing at the front of the room with Tiger were a handful of the other Captains – Mantis of the Hunter-nin, Owl of Information and Espionage, and Cat of Torture and Interrogation.

A folder on Orochimaru was immediately disseminated to every lieutenant of every ANBU squad or every make-shift squad that was formed for the occasion. Most of the information detailed within the folders were the list of jutsu and information Sasuke had written down just thirty minutes ago.

"Konoha is now under an S-class state of emergency. This is the current situation: Orochimaru, the Sannin and International Criminal is confirmed to be in Konoha and it is believed that Orochimaru has access to one more bomb. Everyone should currently be organized into four-man cells with an ANBU from my division as lieutenant. In your folders is a location assigned to your squad. You will leave for your location at once and stay on alert and battle-ready. If you see anything strange, the first thing you do is to report it in. This is Orochimaru, do not be an idiot and go in it alone. Report it in first and then get yourselves killed. You are dismissed."

"Captain," the word resounded like a wall within the room. Everyone flowed around Sasuke who had neither a squad nor assignment.

Behind Tiger, Captain Hound walked into the room. "The Hokage wants you, Mantis, and Owl to draft a plan as soon as possible. But first," Hound turned his mask on Sasuke and threw a hiraishin kunai into Sasuke's hands. "The Hokage demands to see you."

Sasuke looked at the kunai, the edge in Hound's voice made it quite clear that a forgiving Naruto wasn't waiting on the other side. Sasuke drew up his shoulders and activated the kunai. Before he could even recover from the disorientation of the teleportation jutsu a rasengan blasted him back out of the Hokage's Tower. Sasuke suck in a sharp breath where he had landed on the concrete ground and drew in a pain that rattled through his ribs. The second time he activated the kunai, he was coughing out blood on the Kage's carpet.

Bookshelves toppled over, frames snapped, and Sasuke's mask cracked from the force in which the Hokage slammed Sasuke into the wall.

"You fucking asshole," Naruto snapped. "You knew he was in Konoha. _You knew_. Every member of my _family_ was at that wedding."

Sasuke's eyes widened when Naruto's thrust a broken piece of glass toward his neck. He realized Naruto wasn't just angry, he was going for blood. Instinctively, Sasuke opened his mouth and released a fire jutsu that consumed the entire office in a heat of flames.

Through the bright ache of the fire, Naruto's hands sped in a series of seals. Suddenly water burst from the Kage's mouth to quell the flames and burst from the windows like a roaring waterfall. Sasuke immediately logged in the fact Naruto now had the ability to manipulate the water nature transformation and reached for the hilt of his sword.

The blade cracked with lightning. Sasuke evaded Naruto's heightened speed in sage mode, countered and ripped through the shadow clone. He charged through the smoke and stepped right onto a seal. Sasuke was frozen mid-run, trapped by the seal until Naruto sent an uppercut straight through Sasuke's jaw. Bone crunched and Sasuke was hurled through the stone wall by the force of the punch.

Sasuke flipped and landed on the streets of Konoha with a smirk. Felt like old times.

Naruto threw off his Hokage's cloak and hat and tossed it off to the side where the rubble from the office had fallen. "I should not have let you live."

"I wished you had lost everything," Sasuke said from a cruel and honest part of himself. "I wished you had seen everyone you ever cared apart about torn to pieces."

"Shut the fuck up Sasuke. I tired of your bitch ass whining."

Naruto charged with a rasengan. Sasuke created a shadow clone of his own and a condensation of chakra swirled in his hand. Sasuke's smirk grew at the sudden hesitation in Naruto's eyes at the sight of Tomu's jutsu – the karasengan, the rasengan infused with the fire transformation. Naruto knew if the jutsu collided with his wind natured rasen-shuriken, it would level the entirety of Konoha. Sasuke knew it too and didn't give a fuck.

Naruto summoned the wind funnel technique he had used during the wedding to suction some of the heat from Sasuke's technique as he raced toward him. But it wasn't enough. Albeit underpowered by the inverse rotation of the wind, the jutsu hit its mark and consumed them both in a fury of flames.

Burnt skin rolled and wrestled on the ashen ground. Sasuke kneed Naruto in the gut. Naruto punched him in the face. Naruto's nails clawed into Sasuke's skin. Sasuke dug his fist into the whisker marks.

"I hate you!" Sasuke sneered as he planted a satisfying elbow into Naruto's face, finally releasing the festering bitterness and hate that had been building ever since the moment Naruto gave him the ability to see.

"I hate you!" Naruto snapped back with a knee to Sasuke's chest.

They yelled, screamed, punched, kicked, but neither were able to get the upper hand - as fierce and petty as two boys fighting in the schoolyard.

Then an explosion in the distance stilled them both. They both turned as a plume of smoke rose out of the horizon.

"That's the Aburame hive," Sasuke said judging from the distance and then opened his eyes in realization. "Where's Tomu?"

"Sir, the Aburame hive has been attacked," ANBU Hound said as he dropped down into the burnt market district. The fruit from food stalls were shriveled. Embers still licked at the tarp. The wind had sent entire stalls and miscellaneous items tossed in every direction. Their blood painted the streets.

"Send a team to help them evacuate."

Naruto took advantage of Sasuke's distraction and suddenly slapped a seal atop Sasuke's forehead. "Hound, I want you to personally see Sasuke to the dungeons."

"The fuck?" Sasuke snapped but found himself unable to use chakra and was suddenly languid. It almost felt as if he had been drugged. It was like moving through molasses when Hound wrenched him up by the arm.

"Wait," Sasuke argued, "You can't defeat Orochimaru without me. I know him better than anyone. You. Need. Me."

Naruto slapped the Kage's hat back atop his hand and shrugged into his cloak. "No, I don't."

* * *

They took away his katana. They took away his mask. They took away his flak jacket. They took away his chakra. Sasuke slammed his fists angrily against the bars. He had to get to Tomu. He had to keep him away from Orochimaru.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

In exhaustion, Sasuke fell back and rubbed his hands against his face. How dare Naruto lock him up like some animal while his family needed him? How dare Naruto have the arrogance not to need his help?

He knew Orochimaru. He could still defeat Orochimaru. He just had to figure out what Orochimaru was after.

Sasuke tried to focus and think. Why did Orochimaru try to kill Tomu at the wedding? How successful would it have been anyways? In the end, Mushi had jumped in front of Tomu and would have saved him even if the bomb had gone off successfully.

And if Tomu was the target what was the point of using a bomb? It as absurd as killing a mosquito with a bijuu bomb.

Sasuke sat up in realization. Tomu wasn't the target… but everyone else at the wedding was.

He finally knew what Orochimaru wanted. Orochimaru wanted the mangekyou. Everyone around Tomu was a target: Mushi, the unborn baby, Hohei, the Uzumaki clan.

Sasuke hung his head in defeat.

He finally knew what Orochimaru was after and he was stuck here unable to do a thing with no one willing to listen. The game was over. Orochimaru won.

No, why hadn't he seen it before? When Orochimaru approached him weeks ago, Orochimaru had already won.

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**I thought I was doing the right thing.** _

* * *

"You were once perfect."

Sasuke snapped up at the sight of a jailer outside of his cell. But he knew better. Orochimaru had come to gloat. Without a flinch of surprise, the jailer easily crunched and twisted his body to slide boneless through the bars.

"Where's Tomu?" Sasuke asked darkly.

"You should see it. His mangekyou is beautiful." Orochimaru remarked wistfully, "But he's still not perfect. Not like how you were."

Orochimaru reached out his hand. "Come with me Sasuke-kun. The boy doesn't have your instincts, or your ruthlessness, or your darkness. Use my Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu. Take his eyes and his body and his soul. Claim the power that was always rightfully yours. Together, no one will be able to stop us. Become that Sasuke again whose only hunger was for power."

The cell echoed with the force Sasuke slapped away Orochimaru's hand.

"I sought power because I believed it was the right thing to do. I am done begin manipulated by you." Sasuke stood and faced Orochimaru on eye-level. "I will be the one to kill you someday. Permanently."

Orochimaru gave that slithering laugh, stepped back, and twisted back out between the cells. "How can you when you have Konoha's chains still around your wrists?"

Sasuke scratched at the healed burn on his neck. With years of bitterness and resentfulness far beyond Sasuke's lifetime, Orochimaru's pupils narrowed and said, "Konoha will soon come to realize that you belong to me, no matter how… unworthy you've become. You're mine."

* * *

Sasuke looked up dully from his cell at the sound of footsteps coming up the hallway. The white emotionless mask of Captain Tiger stopped at the door. Sasuke immediately said mockingly, "An hour ago and you would have caught Orochimaru. He paid me a visit, so I'm guessing he got away."

"What did Orochimaru want?" Captain Tiger immediately demanded. This has been a terrible day, on par with the first time Orochimaru showed up in Konoha.

"What he always wants: to fuck with me," Sasuke said as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Where the fuck is Naruto? This is his fault."

"You were imprisoned on the Hokage's orders. ANBU serve the Hokage. Furthermore, you are accused of treason."

Sasuke scoffed. "No one could have stopped him," then Sasuke admitted, "Not even me, although I tried."

Sasuke sat back and hit his head against the stone wall. "Whatever. Kill me. I don't care. Or tell Naruto to get this damn seal off my shoulder, let me go, and let me hunt down Orochimaru."

"There is no longer a seal tying you to Konoha."

Sasuke stiffened as he looked down at his shoulder and stared bewildered when his ANBU seal had altered. Then he realized the seal Naruto had placed on his forehead was also gone and he could use his chakra.

"The situation in Konoha has changed drastically." Then the Captain unlocked the bars and opened them. "Follow."

Confused, Sasuke picked himself up and followed the Captain. When he stepped into the light of Konoha, Sasuke sucked in a breath at the sight of about one-fourth of the village completely burned. Entire buildings and pavements were melted by the type of heat that could only be achieved by Amaterasu. The head of the Third Hokage was completely melted off and defaced. A burnt Konoha was all Sasuke had wanted just a few years ago, but now Sasuke felt no satisfaction.

The Captain motioned him forward to the hospital. And the question hit the pit of Sasuke's stomach. Who died for Tomu's mangekyou?

No. No. No. _No._

Sasuke raced forward through the halls of the hospital. The silent ANBU standing as sentries passed him in a blur. The silence pounded against Sasuke's head like a headache. He passed several ANBU Captains. He passed Ichigo. He passed Ame. He passed Sakura. He passed Hinata. He passed Tsunade.

He passed Tomu with wide haunted red eyes.

Sasuke had collected tears by the time he crashed through the hospital door.

He collapsed and felt all his strength leave him at the sight of Naruto's chest fall and rise in the hospital bed. Tubes protruded from his tans arms. A mask covered Naruto's face, breathing into him.

Beep. Beep. Beep.


	10. Team Seven

Sakura Haruno was the hardest working person in Konoha. She was the director of Konoha's world renowned hospital, the Hokage's advisor of local affairs, and have single-handedly changed the face of medicine with several patents issued throughout the years. Despite all her titles, for Sakura Haruno, the toughest day of every year was the day the Hokage has a doctor's appointment.

The doors of the Kage's office thrust open with so much force that wooden stakes splintered through the window, jetted out the glass, and embed in the T&I building next door.

Naruto sat at his desk with an unflinching smile. "Oi, Sakura!"

"You are five minutes late for your doctor's appointment!" Sakura stopped her feet down and the floor cracked like the annoyed veins in her forehead.

"Was that today? Oh, I'm sorry. I've been swamped with so much work." Naruto slapped his hand down on a pile of paperwork that hardly rivaled the epic paper mountains of Tsunade's reign.

The Kage's hat did a triple flip in the air when Sakura's fist punched through the shadow clone and popped the doppelganger like a balloon.

The Naruto with the hat and the cloak was never the real Naruto. But it was the easiest one to find. Over the years, Sakura had come to realize that Naruto only actually showed up in the office if there was an important meeting or an emergency.

Very few in Konoha realized the guy signing paperwork, handing out missions, and eating ramen all day in the office was just a shadow clone. They probably thought Naruto responsible. They probably thought he was the hardest working person in Konoha. But Sakura knew the truth. Oh she knew.

The hunt for the Hokage continues!

* * *

"We were supposed to find this old guy's missing shoe. Kakashi was late again. Sakura was sick. It was just me and Sasuke. We looked everywhere! Eventually Sasuke and I tried to give him any shoe we could find by literally borrowing them from people off the street and every time this old grandpa was like, 'no, that's not it.' When we were both exhausted and annoyed and so hungry, Sasuke and I literally collapsed at the old guy's feet. Then Sasuke pointed to the grandpa's shoes and asked, 'Is that it?'

He had been wearing the shoe the entire time!"

The entirety of Ichiraku Ramen roared with laughter.

"That was one of the worst D-rank mission I've ever done… except for that time we had to scoop up cow dung or the cat. _The cat_." Naruto Uzumaki shivered as he remembered the horror.

It was true that the deliciousness of Ichraku's ramen is what attracted people to the establishment every day for lunch but they stayed for the Hokage.

Many a day Naruto would sit back with five bowls of ramen, or fifty, and enrapt the attention of everyone in the restaurant. Civilians and ninja alike congregated to enjoy the Kage's company.

A child marked by the sharp teeth of the Kiri clans bounced in his Father's lap and asked with wide eyes. "Tell us about the time you defeated Zabuza the Demon of the Mist."

"I heard they even named a bridge after you," Ayame said with a wink, as much a participant and enabler to Naruto's ever growing theater.

Despite herself, Sakura found herself lounging by the doorway. This story never got old. It was one of Naruto's most popular tales and had grown grander over the years. Sakura studied the rapt faces of Naruto's audience that literally filled both levels of Ichiraku. Naruto's voice easily carried to the farthest corners as if the late Teuchi-san had purposefully designed Ichiraku's expansion around Naruto's presence.

"Kakashi's chakra was exhausted. Sasuke was wounded. Sakura had been knocked out. It was up to me – one on one with Zabuza."

"That's not how I remember it," Sakura playfully teased, finally interrupting the story when it was getting too out of hand. She drew the line at getting knocked out by Haku.

Naruto cocked his head in her direction and gave an innocent smile, "Oi, Sakura!"

"Sakura!" Everyone in the restaurant cheered as if they were living through the story and had all become her best friend.

Sakura walked further into the restaurant, obnoxiously dug her elbow into the Kage's shoulder, and flipped her hair. "You forgot how I managed to distract Zabuza with my stunning good looks."

"How could I forget that?" Naruto's eyes lit up like a child given permission to eat as much candy as he wanted. On the spot, Naruto began to reshape the story.

Sakura had once asked Naruto why he embellished the stories so unrealistically so. She still remembered the distant look in Naruto's eye when he answered, "Because they don't want the truth. Instead, they want to believe in something."

"But there is one part of the story that never changes," Sakura had observed.

Sakura's balance shifted when Naruto leaned forward to emphasize the shocking plot twist, "then Sasuke jumped in front of the kunai and saved my life!"

Regardless whether it was from Zabuza, or Haku, or a random squad of mutated flying sharks, in each retelling of the story, Sasuke always saves Naruto's life.

"Why?" Sakura had once asked after she pointed out this fact.

Naruto had only widened his eyes in realization and admitted, "I never realized I did it."

"Then Zabuza fainted from the amount of blood he loss from the massive nosebleed after witnessing my secret Sexy no Jutsu!"

The story came to an end to a rapturous applause and cackles of laughter. Then a chant began demanding the Hokage to actually perform his Sexy no Jutsu. Naruto winked and teased, "It's my _secret_ Sexy no Jutsu and a ninja never reveals his secrets."

Sakura wondered if Naruto even remembered how to perform that jutsu. She knew that Naruto hasn't performed that jutsu since he adopted Ichigo and Ame. And although no one in Konoha performed it anymore, its infamous legacy lived on in the pages of Konoha's porn market, much to Naruto's chagrin. Goes to show you that sometimes the stupid things you do as a kid comes back to haunt you.

Regardless, she was getting sidetracked.

Sakura pointedly checked her red-painted fingernails and then tightened them into a fist. Right before Naruto could sit down and give an encore performance, Sakura punched him right in his goofy grin. The clone left behind a cloud of smoke and a wave of disappointed boos from the crowd.

Sakura stomped her foot, which sent a tremor through everyone's ramen bowls as the wooden floor of Ichiraku splintered. The boos ended immediately. Sakura swiveled on her heels and stormed back out through the door.

The hunt for the Hokage continues!

* * *

Sakura didn't bother to ring the doorbell. The door was never locked. Sakura took a deep breath and then walked into the insanity that was Killer Bee's mansion.

"Bee!" Sakura called down the hallway. Despite Bee's atrocious taste for interior design, Sakura had come to really like Killer Bee. He always came to his doctor's appointment on time.

Sakura heard Naruto before she saw him. She came around the corner of the hallway to find Naruto and Killer Bee belting out songs on a karaoke machine recently shipped in from Cloud Country. Karaoke was one of the most recent imports from Cloud.

One of Cloud's most notable contributions was the radio. Cloud ninja were the ones to originally invent the first radio, which at first hadn't been used in combat but as a need to communicate with their clans spread far across distant mountain ranges.

Within their first year in Konoha, it was driving Cloud ninja so insane that Konoha did not have a radio station that they made one themselves. Their engineers had helped Konoha develop the radio towers that were now on top of the Kage's monument.

Before the Cloud ninja, Konoha had never used the radio outside the field of combat, much less for recreational purposes. Konoha now had a local radio station and with the local radio came more music and an introduction to the infamous idol groups and rap moguls of Cloud Country. With more music readily available, karaoke businesses began popping up everywhere.

Cloud ninja certainly weren't going to leave Konoha the same.

Killer Bee and Naruto finished rapping one of Killer Bee's own songs. Those two were going to miss each other. Bee was one person Naruto didn't need to be larger than life for. They had become such close friends over these past five years.

Sakura's hand twitched when Naruto displayed that mischievous grin that could literally topple countries. Suddenly the first chords of Sakura's favorite song, Blue Bird, began to sputter through the machine. Naruto held out his mike for her to take.

'No, don't do it Sakura! It's a distraction,' Sakura's inner-self warned. This was how it started the last time.

Then Naruto snapped the mike to his lips and comically in a high-pitched female voice sang the first verse, of which Naruto exaggerated further with a hair flick and body roll that sent Killer Bee laughing to the floor. It was the most horrible impersonation of herself Sakura has ever seen.

Sakura snatched the microphone before Naruto could butcher the song further. Sakura clutched the microphone, closed her eyes, and invoked her inner muse. Then the chorus kicked in. Her hips swished, her hand flipped through her hair, and her body rolled with the music.

"So I keep trying to break free to that blue blue sky!"

Sakura thrust an open hand in the air.

"That blue, blue sky! That blue, blue sky!"

Sakura's pink hair thrust forward as she jammed to the guitar riffs. She popped her hips, tapped her feet and winked at her imaginary audience of adoring fans. She kicked at the chorus and thrust her shoulder forward into the words of the song.

Sakura laid back against Killer's Bee pristine white piano, pushed off, landed on her knees and belted into the microphone as she drew out the last notes of the song. A triumphant fist pump punctuated the final crescendo.

Sakura's breathed heavy as the world blurred back to reality and found Naruto and Killer Bee cheering and praising her awesomeness. Sakura dropped the mike.

That's how you sing that song.

"Encore!" Naruto demanded and immediately rushed to play another song. Sakura watched as Naruto reached for the buttons in horror. Oh no, it was going to happen all over again!

He was going to play another one of her favorites. She wouldn't be able to leave. Killer Bee would pour the alcohol. Naruto would invite the old gang of Konoha 11. Ino would challenge her to a singing contest. Lee would challenge everyone to a dance battle. Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino would be filling the room with smoke. Tenten would hunch all night long over the list of songs but never pick one. Hinata would be giggling with an empty bottle of sake. And Naruto would be smiling.

It had been the party of last year.

One that left Sakura's voice hoarse and suffering from a hangover for a week straight. It had been the first year Sakura had forgotten about the doctor's appointment.

Sakura grabbed Naruto's finger before he could touch the button. She held it so hard a wince from Naruto told her she had broken a bone.

"You know you want to." Naruto wiggled his eyebrows. The temptation was beginning to burrow into her hips like the beat of a song.

Not this time.

Sakura punched through Naruto's face and he went up in a cloud of smoke.

The hunt for the Hokage continues!

* * *

Sakura felt blinded by the stylized and energetic kanji that read, 'Rock Lee's Dojo.'

The dojo was open to civilian and ninja alike, with just one rule: no chakra. It was a space were different styles of taijutsu were prominently on display and now home to the Inuzuka Fang Style, the modified Jyuuken Style of the Hyuuga that did not depend on chakra, the Cloud ninja infamous wrestling style, Lee's Flower of Youth Style, and Naruto's distinctive mixed taijutsu style of which he never had a name for but what everyone else named the Demon Fox Style of Nine Tails.

In the early mornings when the dojo was less crowded, Sakura would often stop by an hour before work. After all, she depended just as much on her taijutsu as she did on her chakra control to give her blows power. By improving her taijutsu made her overall style more efficient.

Sakura walked inside and as expected found the Hokage soaked in sweat opposite Rock Lee. Naruto and Rock Lee swaggered back and forth in an offensive stance, both with matching grins on their faces. Even though Rock Lee was hands down the best in a taijutsu match, Naruto still offered a challenge, and just to watch these two was a sight to behold.

There was a sizeable crowd that had formed around their spar. Sakura pushed aside the crowd of ogling kunoichi and cheering shinobi. At first, they were offended by Sakura demanding to be let through until they realized who it was and formed her an open path.

Sakura crossed her arms and stepped onto the dojo sparring space, interrupted the fight, and pointed a challenging finger in Naruto's direction. "I am going to kick the ass of every one of your shadows clones for missing your doctor's appointment just so you know what it feels to get your ass kicked one hundred times by the time I finally come for the real you."

"Sakura's flower of youth is in full bloom!" Lee exclaimed.

Naruto dropped down in an offensive stance. "You know Sakura, you have too much fun punching me in the face."

Sakura's black leather gloves creaked when she tightened her fists. Then she dropped down in an opposing stance as Lee gave her the stage, who dropped down at the corner where Lee's boyfriend handed him a bottle of water.

Sakura ran forward, blocked Naruto's spin hook kick, jumped back and countered with a roundhouse. Naruto caught her foot, rolled with it, and Sakura caught herself on the floor before her face smacked into the ground. She rolled forward and swept up with a low kick that Naruto barely jumped over.

Naruto's fighting style largely depended on the element of surprise and had a moveset that was difficult to predict. He always using attacks to throw his opponents off balance. But Sakura has sparred with him for years and could minimize his advantage at surprise.

The development of Naruto's fighting style truly shows how much he has grown. As a genin, Naruto's attacks were based on his raw physical strength and often just threw punches hoping they would land, but Sasuke boasted the superior taijutsu. Now, Naruto controlled that strength of his. He fought strategically, read his opponents, and had formed a formidable defense to his explosive offense.

Naruto stepped forward, pounced, lifted his leg for a kick and Sakura prepared to defend, but Naruto instead suddenly slammed into her with his shoulder and knocked Sakura off her feet. Sakura began to lift herself up when Naruto suddenly sat down cross-legged on top of her. Sakura slammed to the ground under the force of his weight.

Even without chakra, she could physically benchpress Naruto's weight and easily threw him off. Sakura twisted and kicked Naruto right in the face. He flipped back with a handstand and wiped the blood from his nose as Sakura got back to her feet.

"When did you get so strong Sakura?" Naruto teased.

"These muscles aren't just for show," Sakura said proudly as she lifted her arms and displayed the prominent muscles that cut into her arms. She wasn't going to lose to Naruto, especially to what she knew was a clone.

Sakura charged forward, jumped and attacked with a tornado kick. Naruto brought his forearms up just in time. Then she quickly shifted her weight, hopped forward on one foot, and turned with another kick behind Naruto's knee.

She jumped and hammered her foot down, smashed against Naruto's chest, and cracked the dojo floor as the shadow clone dissipated. Sakura wiped her sweaty forehead and knew it should have been harder than that. Lee must have softened up the clone.

Sakura flipped back her soaked hair to the roars of the cheering crowd.

The hunt for the Hokage continues!

* * *

Sakura finally stood before the large double doors of the Uzumaki compound - the last resort. Everyone in Konoha feared visiting the Uzumaki compound. Sakura was quite certain the insanity of it would surely consume everything that came through its doors.

Sakura braced herself with a deep breath and stepped one foot through the gate. Immediately, a bundle of arms and limbs came flying at her face. Sakura barely caught the child, dropped its squirming legs to the ground, and watched as the child set off at a run without missing a beat. Sakura didn't recognize that one and couldn't even tell its gender underneath a mane of wild hair. There were so many children now that Sakura constantly wondered how Naruto kept up with them all. Every time she came through those compound doors, they've multiplied.

Sakura knew very well that raising ninja children were tough. Because of their reserves of chakra, they had much more energy and stamina than the average child. Not to mention shinobi children were still developing their chakra networks and had no concept of chakra control.

Sakura side-stepped when a child burped and a small plume of fire accidentally left their lips. The bare-foot child waddled forward in such an innocent manner Sakura couldn't help but to smile at her blissful happiness. These kids had been abandoned but here they had found a home. It was as if the powerful light that was Naruto Uzumaki had enveloped them with rays of sunshine.

Suddenly Sakura realized their running had a purpose when Naruto suddenly appeared beside her with a mischievous wink. A thunder of children stampeded towards her. Naruto disappeared right in the moment they bowled Sakura over. The back of Sakura's head hit the ground as small feet scampered over her and then turned like a crashing wave searching for the shore.

A weight remained on her stomach.

"Mom!" Sai said with startled surprise, then turned to watch the crowd of children recede without him. "Am I in trouble? It was Sasu."

"Naruto is in trouble," Sakura said flatly. "What did Sasu do exactly?"

"See you mom!" Sai jumped up and her six-year old ran off. She could have caught him but didn't bother.

Truth be told, she often let them run feral throughout Konoha. Everyone knew who the six-year old pink haired twins belonged to and always reported their antics and behaviors to Sakura. The twins knew what time dinner was. Sakura knew if they didn't show up for dinner they were most likely eating at the Uzumaki or Inuzuka compound.

She sincerely enjoyed the days when they weren't rampaging through her house. It gave her more time to focus on work. After the diaper stage, Sakura was pretty much over having children - especially two hyperactive boys.

Sakura picked herself up just as a tree tumbled over, collateral damage in the relentless game of tag. Groups of children were shouting strategies and laying traps as Naruto appeared and disappeared in random places of the compound shouting at them teasingly.

This Naruto, Sakura knew, was the real Naruto. The Hokage, the _real_ Hokage, spent all his days playing endless games with his kids.

But starting at the compound would ruin the hunt that had become a tradition. It was their thing. After all, she was the busiest person in the Konoha and Naruto knew it. The first time Sakura had to hunt him down through his shadow clones, it had annoyed her, but in the end she realized he did it to force her to take a break from all of the work.

Secretly, the days Naruto had a doctor's appointment were some of the best days of her life.

Naruto reappeared atop the roof of the main house. Kids vaulted over each other in his direction. Sakura casually walked over, snapped her hand into a fist, and punched the very foundation of the house. Naruto tripped off balance and fell as a dogpile of cheering children buried him.

Sakura wasn't worried about the damage. She knew Naruto had a constant construction team of shadow clones working the compound. The house would be back up in a few hours.

Sakura reached her hand into the mountain of children, grabbed Naruto by the foot, and dragged him all the way to the hospital.

The hunt for the Hokage had finally come to an end.

* * *

Naruto sat cross-legged atop the examination table as if he could drop into meditation at any moment. His shoulders visibly tensed when Sakura walked back into the room with the results in hand. Sakura declared, "It seems you have a thicker skull than the average shinobi but besides that, you're healthy for your age."

Naruto's nervousness broke into a wide grin. "How's my heart doing, doc?"

"You've maintained your diet, you don't drink, you don't smoke, you avoid caffeine, you exercise regularly, and you take your medicine. Quite frankly, at this age there are shinobi whose heart looks far worse than yours. Not to mention your Uzumaki genes certainly helps. There is considerable improvement. Your heart has gotten stronger."

Naruto's grin was that same boyish grin of the genin who dreamed of one day becoming the Hokage. Naruto vaulted himself off the examination table and swung Sakura around the room in a hug. Sakura laughed with him as they spun breathlessly about the room. When he placed her feet back on the ground, Sakura found herself caressing the warmth of his cheek. "You deserve a long and happy life Naruto. The world would be darker without you."

"Don't get all soft on me, Nee-san," Naruto teased as he drew back and reached for his shirt. "Maybe now Ame won't be so worried about policing everything that I do. I hate for her to worry so much."

"That's what daughters do," Sakura said as she placed the results in a scroll to be hidden away in a sealed vault for later. Sakura turned to watch Naruto slow in his actions. His thoughts were elsewhere and didn't pay much attention when he shoved his arm through the head-hole.

"Baka," Sakura muttered and walked over to help him.

Naruto chuckled embarrassed when the Kage finally got his shirt on right. Naruto leaned against the table and explained his momentary lapse. "Sometimes I just stop to think on how amazing these five years have been. To be given the opportunity to love so deeply and for the first time to truly know what it means to be unconditionally loved back. It's like nothing else in the world, Sakura."

Sakura chuckled to herself inwardly. Who knew Naruto would turn out to be such a Dad.

"And how is our estranged member of Team 7 doing?" Sakura asked. She wasn't surprised by Naruto's exasperated release of breath.

"We got into somewhat of a fight a few days ago," Naruto admitted. He lifted himself up by his arms and returned to his cross-legged position. They both knew that now they were on the subject of Sasuke they might be here a while.

Because she was so busy Sakura admittedly didn't see Naruto all that often, which made moments like these much more novel, but he certainly had a tendency to seek her out when he had something to say about Sasuke.

In fact, Sakura had been the first person he told about his decision to keep Sasuke alive. Thus far, she's kept her distance from Sasuke. She believed that he would approach her when he's either ready or had to.

"What were you fighting about?"

"The past. The Valley of the End."

"Really?" Sakura asked intrigued. "You know, you've never really told me the details of that battle."

"I haven't?" Naruto asked surprised. "Yeah well he was an asshole, etc, etc."

"Naruto," Sakura said patiently.

"According to Sasuke, in his twisted fucked-up head of his, he saved my life that night." Naruto's jaw tightened. "Then he said he loved me."

It wasn't exactly news to Sakura. She's had years to think over the enigma that had always been Sasuke. But in the end, at Sasuke's darkest, he's tried to murder her, Kakashi, and even his own teammates in Hawk. But Naruto was the one and only person Sasuke couldn't bring himself to kill. As much as Sasuke liked to fool himself into believing he severed their bond, relationships don't work like that, as if it was as simple as cutting a thread and walking away. Relationships don't cut neatly.

"What did you do?" Sakura asked.

A darkness crept over Naruto's face with his flash of anger. "He had the audacity to ask if we could be friends again. Sasuke finally revealed that he cared about me and yet he still made all of his choices regardless. That actually makes everything kind of worse." Naruto shook his head. "No, I don't need Sasuke. I don't need his validation or his acknowledgment or respect. I don't need his love. I know love and it is not Sasuke. He is only capable of fire and destruction."

"So you pushed him away?"

"I don't need him," Naruto said stubbornly.

"But he needs you," Sakura retorted. "Perhaps that how Sasuke loves because it's the only kind of love he knows. I'm not saying for you to forgive him, or to bury everything between you two, but Sasuke reached out and that doesn't happen every day."

Naruto stared at his hands and whispered, "I can't. He brings out the worst in me. I don't like who I am around him. I don't want to be that Naruto. I can't be that Naruto." Naruto looked up at Sakura bewildered, "How can you both love and hate someone so much?"

Sakura stepped forward and realized perhaps she was doing it again: asking Naruto to be the hero and to bring Sasuke back home. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that Naruto wasn't infallible. Sakura sat beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's alright Naruto. You don't have to be the one to save Sasuke. He's got to do that himself."

* * *

Love was the silhouette of Hinata before a full moon, gazing toward the stars as the ocean kissed her bare feet. Naruto wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled into her shoulder, then looked up to gaze over the ocean glittering with stars as if they were diamonds.

Konoha might not have had enough to money to buy the Kiri mainland (a deal Naruto had to tentatively work out with the Akimichi). But the Uzumaki certainly had enough money to buy a small island. After Naruto put his children to bed and Hinata finished her duties as clan head, they spent their nights under the stars.

It wasn't Mei's island. That one was closer to the Kiri mainland and already owned by memories.

But this one, it was theirs. Naruto swallowed the taste of the ocean that dripped from Hinata's skin. Her wet hair was a shock of cold that clung to his black t-shirt. "You took a swim without me," Naruto whispered as his thumbs massaged her bare hip bones.

"How was your doctor's appointment?"

Naruto grinned as his lips caressed down her shoulder. "My heart is stronger."

Naruto inwardly cursed when she slipped from his fingers with the ease of a fish and turned to him with the sharp eyes of the byakugan. Naruto swallowed and immediately attempted to race through his head all of the things he could have done wrong.

"What about the headaches?" Hinata demanded.

Fuck. He forgot. "Sakura said everything was fine." Naruto knew not to draw closer until he had begged his way into her good graces. "And they're just headaches. Even you said you didn't see anything with your byakugan."

"But they haven't stopped since you dispelled that two-year clone," Hinata argued. "You've locked away the Kyuubi's chakra which mean you no longer heal as fast as you did before, physically or mentally. You were supposed to talk to Sakura about it. She might have missed something if she didn't know where to look."

"Hinata, this is supposed to be a happy moment. They're just headaches. I'm fine. Can't we just celebrate?"

Hinata crossed her arms and Naruto found himself completely distracted by the way her late night dip was still evident on the damp skin of her breasts. Naruto licked his lips. "I'll talk with Sakura, I promise."

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

"Now get over here a make love to me Uzumaki."

Naruto broke out into a grin and swept Hinata into his arms, literally throwing her over his shoulder to a sudden gasp of giggles and ran into the ocean with her over his shoulder. Then he outright tossed her into the sea. Naruto quickly kicked off the pants that were weighing on his hips. Naruto pulled off his shirt just as a large wave crashed into him, sweeping him off his feet, and beaching him back to shore. He opened his eyes to Hinata on top of him with a soft smile.

He always lost his breath at the sight of it. Naruto reached for her lips, just before Hinata picked herself up and with a beckoning finger walked back so far until she dipped underneath the water. Naruto followed eagerly. He dived in. His world swept into a vision of blue as deep as his irises. The water resisted him as he attempted to catch Hinata who swam more gracefully through the sea. He kicked his legs forward and pressed himself against her and the dust of the ocean floor. Her legs wrapped around him as Naruto twisted his arm around a pile of seaweed to keep him anchored in place.

They shared air between their lips. Shooting stars fell behind his eyes when he entered her. Naruto's pace was slow and rocking like a wave to shore and savored the deep depths of the ocean at night.

Naruto was the one who always need to breathe first.

When his limit approached like that of rolling storm clouds, Naruto thrusts faster until his climax released bubbles of air from his lips.

They drifted to the surface. Both drew in a mouthful of breath when they broke into the night air. Naruto teased playfully as he bit down on her ear and whispered, _"_ Oooh Kunoichi, let me suck on your battle scars. I'll fuck you like a water jutsu, dragons in the bed and wet in the sheets."

Hinata collapsed in a fit of laughter that sent her chest rolling against Naruto's like a flurry of small bubbles. Naruto hiked her up on his hips and carried her forward to shore.

Ever since Naruto locked away the Kyuubi's chakra, he no longer had the bedroom stamina he had before but Naruto quickly learned how to compensate. Naruto pressed Hinata gently down into the sand and then dove into her depths as if breaking through the surface of ocean. His tongue swirled like a hurricane and tossed her clit on the end of his tongue. Hinata moaned, from the lungs, as deep as thunder. Naruto growled when Hinata came and sucked on the pulse of her muscles against his lips.

Naruto lifted, crouched forward, and lapped at her breasts.

"What should we do to make tonight special?" Hinata asked with a smirk as she combed her fingers through Naruto's hair. Thus far, this was just an average night for them. "Perhaps a threesome?"

"I'm still traumatized the time you asked Gaara."

"He turned it down gracefully."

"Still weird."

"Sasuke?"

"It's only fun when _I'm_ teasing _you_ ," Naruto said as he sat up and followed the trail of hickies that were beginning to bloom on her skin. "Besides, you can't stand him as much as I can."

"It would be interesting in any case. If it's want you wanted, I'd swallow anything for you."

He didn't miss her double entendre. "Hah hah, very funny. No."

"If you're that uncomfortable I could just watch." Hinata wiggled her eyes playfully.

"Pervert," Naruto huffed as he collapsed in the sand beside her. He knew she was ultimately just teasing him because she enjoyed it as much as he enjoyed watched the blushing red rise to her cheeks. "Ino is always game."

Hinata shook her head. Ino wasn't exactly novel.

"Shadow clone orgy? Role-play? BDSM?" Hinata suggested.

Naruto considered the options. He did say he wanted to celebrate tonight. Then Naruto gave an intake of air and curled around to meet Hinata's curious gaze. Naruto licked his lips like an anxious nervous pubescent boy.

"Let's make a baby. It's the perfect time. I'm healthy and things are politically quiet right now. I've kept Suna and Iron from each other throats, it'll be years before Momochi can scrape together any kind of power out of Ame, Demon Country is too scared, and Kuro no Keiyakusha is quiet." Naruto watched the gears turn in Hinata's head. "I honestly never thought it'd make a difference but when I look at Boruto and see the best of us, I want another one."

"He is beautiful, isn't he?" Hinata whispered. "How long do you think it'll take for Momochi to reign in control of Ame?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at the fact she was considering it. He understand why she took the matter so seriously. It had been a careful and thought-out decision when they decided to conceive Boruto. "Two to three years at least and I've already made plans to take care of Momochi before he can consolidate his power. There is no immediate threat to Konoha."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Let's make a baby, Uzumaki."

Naruto lips twitched into a permanent smile as he pulled Hinata forward and raised her on top his stomach. Naruto pressed his sharp incisors across his palm and then traced the blood in a careful pattern over her hip.

They stared at each other when the black seal disappeared from Hinata's flesh. Naruto's chest felt overwhelmed by the swell of emotion in his chest.

This is what love is.

* * *

Hohei made certain that all biological functions proved that Sasuke Uchiha was indeed deep asleep before he pulled from the bed. It wasn't hard as the Uchiha certainly didn't cuddle after sex but very much dominated the entirety of the bed to the point Hohei only ever had the edge to sleep on. Nude, Hohei softly closed the door and casually sat down at the kitchen table where Mushi was drinking water.

"I spoke to the Captain this morning. I'm to continue the mission despite the change in parameters," Hohei immediately conveyed. It was always difficult to find time to discuss their mission as Tomu was constantly around them. Tomu did not know that they had been tasked to watch and monitor the Uchiha.

"Understood," Mushi said simply. He appreciated the fact that Mushi never questioned his ability to perform his duties. Leave the worrying to Tomu.

"Now that you've gotten closer to the target what's your opinion on his actions these past several weeks?"

Hohei answered thoughtfully, "He's afraid of something and it's unsettled him to the point he's frantically trying to regain control. Something happened, something most likely involved with this project he's been working on."

"It's certainly not for the Captain," Mushi said. "We've missed something. If only I could continue to bug him."

Mushi's ability to bug Sasuke had supposed to be a part of the mission but it became impossible when she became pregnant. And Hohei couldn't keep his byakugan activated indefinitely. They both knew there were vital holes they've missed but they were the only two ninja who could monitor Sasuke on a long-term basis without suspicion because of their relationship to Tomu.

"Now that you are closer to the target it should be easier to monitor him. I will tell Tomu that I need your help planning the wedding to excuse the fact I am inviting you over to dinner every night. The more you keep the Uchiha occupied, the less likely he'll get himself into trouble until this phase of his passes."

"Still, we need to find the source of what triggered him to make sure it doesn't happen again. He's fucking me but I'm pretty sure that doesn't make me immune to his ire if I start asking personal questions."

"We do need to approach this with care," Mushi agreed.

They both knew Sasuke wouldn't appreciate the fact that Mushi and Hohei have been watching him this entire time. Certainly, Sasuke knows that the Hokage is watching him to a certain extent but didn't know how close the eyes were. It had become quite evident to them both that the Uchiha did not react well to betrayal.

"I'll do what I have to," Hohei determined.

It was only after they discussed their mission, their plan, and how they were going to proceed from here, did Mushi ask, "Does he hurt you?"

As if in the scheme of things, it wasn't important. The mission came first.

"No," Hohei was surprised to say. "As long as I obey him, it's not bad. He's not that weird or creative of a guy. It's just normal fucking. It's as if he doesn't know how to ask for sex so he demands it instead. He does have a weird thing about never calling me by my name."

To be cautious, Hohei's byakugan was activated even at the table to keep a constant watch on Sasuke, in case he should wake up.

"What I find really frightening about this mission is that sometimes I understand him," Hohei said softly. "You know, after the Fifth Shinobi war it was still very difficult for me to be intimate with other people. Whenever I managed it, I found it easier if I could determine the place, the time, and how. Controlling those things made me feel safe. It's like the same thing with Sasuke… except to the extreme."

Mushi said sharply, as if discussing a name out of the bingo book instead of her fiance's cousin, "Be careful Hohei. Never forget who we're dealing with."

"A Uchiha is putting his dick in my mouth. I do not forget."

* * *

Hohei fixed the crooked edge of Tomu's tie. Then the best man stepped back and searched for any fault in Tomu's sleek black tuxedo.

"I can't believe I'm getting married," Tomu said as he turned to stare at himself in the mirror. Tomu personally never considered himself very dapper, an insecurity further exacerbated by the constant presence of his cousin whose dangerous grace was effortless. But today, he felt nothing short of handsome.

"Me neither." Tomu shot Hohei a glare in the mirror. Hohei cracked a smile. "Although, the pregnancy was a no-brainer. All you two do is fuck like kinkaichuu beetles."

Tomu laughed. He used to feel embarrassed by the fact Hohei had the byakugan. But Tomu quickly got over that embarrassment four years ago. He's been around enough Hyuuga to know that to them unwanted access to other people's private lives was day-to-day life. Which is why he felt justified to ask, "What's going on between you and my cousin?"

Hohei crossed his arms and casually leaned against one of the support beams of the tent. "I was going to tell you after the wedding."

Tomu wasn't stupid. Things didn't add up. Tomu gritted his teeth and asked, "Is this a mission?"

"Even if it was I'm not privy to tell you," Hohei answered, which was basically a yes but if his superior officer asked, he hadn't said anything.

"Shit," Tomu cursed. "How could you accept something like this? Hohei, how many partners have you had since the war? You're not ready for something like this. Sasuke is fucking crazy."

"The mission didn't start off this way but changed out of necessity," Hohei said impatiently. "I am a ninja Tomu. I can handle it."

"Until it gets you killed," Tomu snapped. "This mission is too dangerous for you to be doing it alone. Who else are you working..." The answer hit Tomu immediately. "Mushi? This isn't fair to anyone involved. To you, or her, and yes Sasuke is crazy, but he deserves more than to be surrounded by a bunch of liars and manipulators."

"He lives in a ninja village," Hohei deadpanned. "Tomu, how else would you monitor someone who can only be defeated by the Hokage if he should ever decide to turn on Konoha?"

"Do you care about him even a little?"

Hohei blinked blankly. "It's a mission Tomu."

"Sometimes, I'm surprised that ninja even know what love is."

"I think most settle for someone who isn't trying to kill them." Hohei stared at Tomu through the mirror, in his black suit and tie. "You're one of the lucky ones."

"I know. Fuck it, I know it."

"Sorry to interrupt the conversation." A deep baritone joined them at the door. Naruto stood wearing the sleek orange yukata of the Uzumaki clan.

"Uzumaki-sama," Hohei bowed deeply and left the room to give them some privacy and make sure everything was in proper order with the wedding.

"Did I interrupt something?" Naruto asked after he studied Tomu's tired expression.

"No." Tomu sighed. He didn't want to linger on Sasuke. He knew just the name ruined Naruto's day.

Naruto swept further into the room, always a sun that warmed anything with his presence, and immediately lifted Tomu's mood. "I'm honored to be the one to escort you down the aisle. I know your mother is so proud of you."

Tomu smiled. "Hopefully one day I can do the same for you."

"First, you'd have to crawl over Baa-chan's corpse. I'm pretty sure she refuses to die until she sees me married and is giving me away herself. But I certainly would be honored to have you as my best man at my imaginary fictional wedding," Naruto joked.

"Come on, Nii-chan, never? What about you and Hinata?"

"Hinata and I are never going to get married. That's the price I pay for loving her. I've accepted that." Naruto pressed forward and slapped his hands down on Tomu's shoulders. "Anyways, this day is not about me. I feel like I should say some wise words or something but the truth of it is, you don't need them. At times you're a far better man than even I. What you're about to do is brave and courageous and a little stupid considering your circumstances but that's how I know you've grown up on me. Gosh, I remember the days you'd crash on my ratty-ass sofa."

"Naruto, are you about to cry on me?"

"No," Naruto said as he crossed his arms with a dramatic pout and then looked back at Tomu with a soft smile. "I'm glad you're happy."

Then Naruto tucked his hands in his cloak. "I'm going to keep the kids calm until the ceremony starts. Then I'll be back to escort you down the aisle. I think Boruto has already gotten into the cake."

"I don't understand how a three year old can have so much fucking energy," Tomu could hardly keep up with that kid.

"Guess it's the good genes," Naruto outright laughed.

"Or bad genes, depending on how you look at it," Tomu teased and the two men shared an inside joke only a few other people were privy to.

Naruto walked out the room and Tomu turned back toward the mirror. He couldn't even imagine the thought that soon he'd have his own little mini-me running around. But if Naruto could somehow wrangle hundreds on his own, certainly he could take care of one.

Tomu sucked in a deep breath. He used to be just some street kid. He knew with a fact that without Naruto, he wouldn't be the man was today. He didn't want anyone else walking him down aisle.

* * *

Naruto plucked Boruto out of the cake who hung upside down with icing smattering down his face. "Daddy," the three year old squirmed. "Do you wanna cake?"

Sometimes Naruto didn't know how people didn't see it. Boruto's Uzumaki seal was different from the rest of the clan as it permanently henged his yellow hair orange and irises brown. No one gave the kid a second look but sometimes that grin was too much Naruto and those big round eyes too much Hinata for no one to notice.

Hiding Boruto had been a conscious decision that both Naruto and Hinata had both made. If the world knew Naruto had a biological child, Boruto would become an instant target. It had been easy enough adopt him through the orphanage and hide him among the other children.

"Boruto," Naruto told the three year old as he tossed him in the air and caught him underneath his arm. "It's not cake time yet."

"Cake time! CAKE TIME!"

"No, Tomu and Mushi have to get married first."

"What's marry? Where's Tomu? Bird!"

"NARUTO!"

Naruto instinctively whipped around at the sound of Sasuke's voice. It's been a long time since he's heard that voice with so much urgency. Naruto eyes found Sasuke, followed the path Sasuke was running and landed on the bomb the priest was suddenly holding. Two feet away, Killer Bee was setting up his DJ equipment. Hohei was directing the flower arrangements. Hinata sat chatting with Sakura in the first row. Unaware, Ame was approaching the priest. His children were everywhere.

And in that moment, as if Naruto had been living a dream, he woke up.

* * *

He was shaking. He couldn't stop himself from shaking. Naruto didn't think he's been this furious since Jiraiya died.

"I am going to kill him," Naruto snarled. He couldn't prevent his killing intent from choking the room but Hinata stood under the weight of it with a much needed air of calm.

"We need to determine our next step. We've hidden Tomu away. Orochimaru isn't likely to leave Konoha until he gets what he wants," Hinata reasoned. "You should talk with Shikamaru."

"My entire family was at that wedding, _everyone_. If Killer Bee had died that's an automatic war with Lightning! You're pregnant! _Pregnant._ I'm going to rip Sasuke apart myself. He knew this entire time and said nothing."

"But if Sasuke wasn't in the village at all we would have never gotten that warning, even a last second one. We would all be dead."

"So what? He saved us?"

"We need to move on and decide what we're going to do," Hinata said insistently. "You can deal with Sasuke later. Punch him in the face-" Naruto recognized that shift in the air and knew one of his hiraishin kunai had been activated. Naruto swirled around and sent a satisfying rasengan to Sasuke's face that send him through the walls of the office. "later," Hinata finished.

"You're not angry at Sasuke," Hinata told him.

Naruto looked down at his shaking arms. He knew she was right but this was easier, punching Sasuke in the face was much easier than realizing that Orochimaru had been in Konoha for months, right under his nose and he didn't even know it.

He didn't see it coming.

And that scared Naruto the most.

Bookshelves toppled over, frames snapped, and Crow's mask cracked from the force in which the Hokage slammed Sasuke into the wall.

"You fucking asshole," Naruto snapped. "You knew he was in Konoha. _You knew_. Every member of my _family_ was at that wedding."

Naruto grabbed the closest sharp object he could find, a shard of glass from a broken picture frame and aimed it for Sasuke's neck. Don't fuck with Naruto's family. It was a line Sasuke should have never inadvertently crossed. As far as Naruto was concerned, Sasuke was dying today.

Naruto drew back when Crow opened his mouth. Naruto immediately began speeding his hands through a series of seals to counteract the fire jutsu he knew was coming. The water came from the pit of his stomach, burst from his mouth and shattered the windows like a roaring waterfall.

Naruto winced under the blinding light when Sasuke summoned lightning from his blade. Naruto activated sage mode and moved so fast, he left a shadow clone behind and attached a seal to the floor before vaulting himself to the ceiling to turn and find Sasuke had fallen into his trap. Naruto dropped down and used the crouch to add strength to his uppercut. The crunch of Sasuke's jaw was satisfying. Sasuke was once again hurled through the stone wall.

Naruto followed with predatory hunger. The taste for blood was in his mouth as he landed on all fours just as Crow was picking himself off the street. Sasuke gave that smirk, arrogant and smug.

Damn hat and cloak was weighing him down. Naruto tossed the offending items off to the side where the rubble from the office had fallen. "I should not have let you live."

But Naruto planned to fix that.

Sasuke wiped the blood from his mouth and narrowed his eyes with spite. "I wish you had lost everything. I wished you had seen everyone you ever cared apart torn to pieces."

It was the same story every time: My name is Sasuke and I lost my entire family when I was seven years old which gives me the right to act like an ass to everyone. Pity me.

"Shut the fuck up Sasuke. I'm tired of your bitch ass whining."

Naruto charged with a rasengan. When Sasuke created a shadow clone of his own, Naruto crunched his eyebrows confused and then widened as the sight of condensed chakra swirling in Sasuke's hand. Dammit Tomu.

Naruto quickly dissipated his own jutsu before the entirety of Konoha got caught up in the blast. He wasn't surprised that Sasuke didn't give a fuck. He was beyond looking for a shred of humanity in Sasuke.

Naruto summoned the wind funnel technique he had used during the wedding to suction some of the heat from Crow's technique as he raced toward him. But it wasn't enough. Albeit underpowered by the inverse rotation of the wind, the jutsu hit its mark and consume them both in a fury of flames.

Naruto hadn't felt a pain like this since the Kyuubi's chakra cloak and this time he wasn't healing. Burnt skin rolled and wrestled on the ashen ground. Sasuke kneed Naruto in the gut. Naruto punched him in the face. Naruto's nails clawed into Sasuke's skin. Sasuke dug his fist into the whisker marks.

"I hate you!" Sasuke sneered as he planted an elbow into Naruto's face.

Where does Sasuke get the right to even hate him? After all Sasuke has done? After all the shit Naruto had put up with?

"I hate you!" Naruto snapped back with a knee to Sasuke's chest.

They yelled, screamed, punched, kicked, but neither were able to get the upper hand - as fierce and petty as two boys fighting in the schoolyard.

Then an explosion in the distance stilled them both. They both turned as a plume of smoke rose out of the horizon.

Oh kami, Tomu.

"That's the Aburame hive," Sasuke realized and with a tremble of fear Naruto wasn't used to hearing in Sasuke, the Uchiha asked, "Where's Tomu?"

"Sir, the Aburame hive has been attacked," ANBU Hound said as he dropped down into the burnt market district.

"Send a team to help them evacuate."

Sasuke's eyes were focused on the distant smoke as if following a ghost. Naruto pulled a pre-made seal out of his pocket and slapped it atop Sasuke's forehead. "Hound, I want you to personally see Crow to the dungeons."

"The fuck?" Sasuke snapped.

"Wait," Sasuke argued when Hound wrenched him up by his arm. "You can't defeat Orochimaru without me. I know him better than anyone. You. Need. Me."

Naruto walked over and reach down for his cloak and shook the dirt from it. He slapped the Kage's hat back atop his head.

"No, I don't."

* * *

Plan C32.

It was the name of the contingency plan Naruto had created a long time ago with Shikamaru in case Orochimaru returned to Konoha for the sharingan. Naruto knew that Orochimaru's renewed interest in the sharingan wasn't outside the realm of possibility. The plan took into account Orochimaru's ability to steal someone's face with the Vanishing Facial Copy Jutsu and reasoned that the Aburame hive would be the safest place for Tomu as the hive would recognize any foreign interference.

Tomu reluctantly slid the tie from his collar as he sat down atop the bed in Mushi's private room of the hive. In the hive, rooms were assigned based on chakra capacity of the individual and Mushi's was on one of the deepest levels. Very few outside of the Aburame had access to the fragile carefully maintained ecosystem underneath their lands. Even though Tomu has been dating Mushi for years, this was only his second time within the hive. Even those who marry into the Aburame clan never venture this far deep. At this level, the kikaichuu beetles tunneling through the earthen walls were so congested it seemed as if the walls were moving.

"Something had to go wrong. It always goes wrong," Tomu complained as he shrugged out of his black tuxedo jacket. "Why am I so fucking unlucky? Out of everyone in Konoha, bam, I have the sharingan. Oh, you're having a wedding? Here's the Snake Sannin as a wedding gift."

"It could be worse. We could be dead," Mushi reasoned.

"Thank you for your optimism," Tomu replied sarcastically.

Mushi nodded after she finished changing out of her wedding dress. Tomu suddenly noticed that Mushi hadn't simply gotten undressed. Mushi buckled her kunai holster to hip. Her chuunin vest fit oddly around her stomach and couldn't zip properly for how big she has grown in size.

"You don't think we're safe here?" Tomu whispered.

"I think this is the safest we can possibly be," Mushi answered. "But this is Orochimaru we're dealing with." Mushi paused in the mirror and stared at the size of herself. Her black eyes looked at Tomu in the mirror. "We should decide on a name."

"Now?" Tomu asked suddenly, feeling a pit of dread in his stomach. Sometimes, Mushi's rational logic comforted him and sometimes it scared him.

"In case anything happens to one of us... or all of us. She deserves a name on her grave at least."

They were supposed to have more time. He wanted to carefully consider every option and choose the perfect name with the same amount of love and care his unborn daughter deserves. Tomu sucked in a breath and finally responded after a moment of meditation. "Maybe, after my mother?"

"Arisu Aburame-Uzumaki," Mushi tested the name on her tongue. Then she nodded in approval.

"Mushi," Tomu said as he pulled from the bed and reach for her. He wrapped his arms above her stomach and held onto her beauty and strength. "We'll make it through this."

"It's my fault," Mushi whispered. "I was tasked to watching Sasuke. Both Hohei and I knew something wasn't right, that he wasn't just having a moment, but... how can you possibly imagine that Orochimaru is in Konoha? It's as surreal as saying Madara Uchiha, the founder of Konoha, was the orchestrator of the Fourth Shinobi War. To our generation, Orochimaru is but a ghost, even beyond the legends that are The Last Uchiha or the Demon Fox of Konoha. I never even imagined the possibility."

"You couldn't have known. Some things you just don't see coming," Tomu reassured her as he pressed her lips against the bob of her hair. Tomu knew Mushi long enough to know that this was how she dealt with stress and life or death situations. She was preparing herself to die. He looked in her eyes deep in the mirror and knew within them, she was expecting to die today.

Mushi turned into his lips and began to help Tomu finish undressing. Tomu smiled into her lips as they eagerly drew back into the bed. Mushi unzipped his pants. He stripped off the ill-fitting chuunin vest. Tomu paused when Mushi palmed his groin. Their wide eyes met each other.

Oh Kami, the world was going to end.

"What's wrong?" Mushi asked.

"I… I…." Tomu reached down into his underwear to see if he couldn't jumpstart the problem. "I can't get it up."

The stoic face of the battle-hardened kunoichi suddenly cracked when she laughed. Tomu never needed much foreplay. This wasn't a problem Tomu usually had.

Tomu collapsed back on the bed beside her and cursed his god-stricken bad luck. "This is just great. Because of Orochimaru I'm too stressed out to even get it up on my wedding night."

Mushi planted a kiss on his cheek and then moved his arm to wrap around her waist. When they were lying in bed like this, without her Aburame cloak, Tomu was always reminded of how physically small she was compared to him. It almost felt as if he was the stronger of the two, as if he was the one protecting her.

"I'm sorry," Tomu whispered. "If only I was stronger."

"Tomu, I didn't fall in love with you for your strength," Mushi said frankly. Then Mushi sat up and took Tomu's hand. He gave her a questioning look. "When I was a genin and graduated the Academy I was placed on Team 4. I foolishly believed that we were the strongest team in the world, until I watched them all die. The fact is, as ninja, we are placed on teams that might fail us, that won't last, and that will see members replaced. They change as often as the season or as the need arises.

Today, I am proud to admit that I have been lucky enough to find my perfect teammate. He completes me. He has filled my life with so much light. He is the kunai to my shuriken, the leaf to my Konoha, the sharingan to my Uchiha, and the will to my fire. Whether or not we both wear rings, whether or not we share the same last name, whether or not our marriage is actually official, I will always love you Uzumaki Tomu."

Tomu wiped stray tears from his cheeks. "Wow, Mushi, my wedding vows suck compared to that."

"I'm not finished," Mushi tightened her hand around Tomu. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and then added to her wedding vows. "No matter what happens, you will forever and always be my perfect teammate. But no matter how perfect the team, sometimes they fail, sometimes they don't last, sometimes members are replaced, and sometimes they die. Maybe you'll never be completely perfect for someone else, but you've got to move on because ninjas survive in teams."

"No," Tomu said fiercely. He couldn't even entertain the idea of her death right now.

"Tomu, we're ninja. Promising forever is for the idealistic."

"Or for the romantic," Tomu retorted. He blushed when he slammed his head down on the pillow. "You're going to scoff at my wedding vows."

"I want to hear them."

Tomu sighed as he moved his arm and further pushed her body against him until her back was spooned against his chest.

"Since I'm marrying an Aburame, I thought I'd asked a kikaichuu beetle how to be the perfect husband. They mate for life and thus I promise to be faithful to you for all of my days. They, on average, have sex five hundred times a day and thus I promise, to the best of my ability, to fuck you five hundred times a day. In an average hive, an individual beetle usually live as long as a single day. They die and you literally shit out their dead corpses. Aburame Mushi, if we had only one day to live, I would love you until this world shits us out. To us, a day might seem like such a brief moment but to a kikaichuu beetle, it's an eternity. So let's make like a kikaichuu beetle, hurry and get the fuck out of here, because we've got four hundred and ninety-nine more fucks to go."

Mushi rolled in Tomu's arms laughing. "It's perfect. The clan would have loved it." Mushi crawled on top of him to properly show her appreciation.

"Oh, wait, there it is," Tomu said excitedly at the familiar stirrings in his groin. Immediately, Tomu activated his sharingan.

They sealed their vows with a kiss. Then they consummated their new title of husband and wife.

Sometimes a moment can seem an eternity.

* * *

Tomu scrambled awake at the sound of an explosion that went off like an alarm clock inside his head. Around him, the black walls skittered in frantic waves. Tomu rolled off the bed when a rock fell from the ceiling.

"Mushi?!" Tomu called frantically over the empty space beside him in bed. The buzzing from the kikaichuu beetles began to ground in volume and drown out his voice until it sounded as if they were screeching in his ears. Tomu activated his sharingan to pierce through the sudden updraft of dust and realized he was the only chakra signature in the room. Tomu tossed his pants on and rushed out of the bedroom.

He breathed in relief when he found Mushi leaned against the wall of the hallway. "Mushi? What's going on?"

Mushi looked up at Tomu as if he was the first thing that she understood. "I don't know. I woke up here in the hallway." She knew moments of forgetfulness were common during pregnancy but something wasn't right. Mushi swiveled her eyes to the kikaichuu beetles crawling over her hand. "The hive has been bombed. The lower levels are caved in?"

"Is everyone alright?" Tomu asked immediately.

"Tomu, we need to go. According to the plan, if the hive is ever compromised we are to move to the safe house."

"But what about your family? And what happened to you?" Tomu asked urgently as he picked her up and swept her up bridal-style into his arms.

"The Aburame are natural earth users. They will be fine. We need to follow protocol."

Tomu clenched his jaw. The entire passage behind him was block and they would most likely suffocate down here if they were to stay. Finally, he conceded to Mushi's reasoning. He reached into the pocket of his pants and activated the hiraishin kunai connected to one of the old houses in the Uzumaki compound Naruto had deemed a safe house if anything were to happen to the hive.

Tomu knew something was extremely wrong the moment he activated the kunai. Usually the jutsu sent through him a wave of nausea but he had long gotten used to those symptoms. Nothing had prepared him for the sharp splash of ice water through his veins. He gasped at the acute sensation of chakra exhaustion.

This stone floor wasn't the Uzumaki compound. A deep chuckle grazed across Tomu's skin and raised the hair on his arms. Tomu looked up with a sharp breath into the piercing eyes of the infamous Snake Sannin.

Mushi, pregnant, and dressed in nothing but her underwear stood in front of Tomu defensively. Orochimaru chuckled at the sight. "I no longer have need of you."

Mushi dropped to her knees and clutched at the fading remains of a bite on her arm. No, it couldn't be possible. Mushi has had that bite on her arm for weeks, long before Sasuke ever mentioned Orochimaru.

Mushi looked up with a revelation. "I bombed the hive."

"And through your eyes, have been spying on my interests for months," Orochimaru answered. "I admit it's not the way I planned on doing things." Orochimaru licked his lips. "It was supposed to be a grand finale: A bomb goes off at your wedding after the 'I do' killing everyone you've ever known, your soon-to-be wife jumps in front of you, saves your life, and kills herself and the unborn child – it's the sort of tragic backstory every Uchiha loves to have."

"You sick fuck," Tomu snapped. Tomu gritted his teeth as he attempted to force his heavy limbs to move. Wherever they had landed, the jump was too far. He barely had any chakra left to keep him conscious.

His eyes met Mushi's who was curled in pain on the floor. They reached out and together intertwined their fingers.

"Luckily, I always have a back-up plan," Orochimaru swirled the end of a hiraishin kunai round his finger. In horror, Tomu realized that somehow Orochimaru had infiltrated the Uzumaki compound and uprooted the kunai without anyone knowing.

Without hesitation Tomu bit viciously into his thumb and pulled up his sleeve. Orochimaru chuckled. Tomu whipped up when Orochimaru's pale hand caught him by the wrist. Orochimaru manicured hand pawed the Uzumaki seal on Tomu's shoulder.

"Uzumaki has certainly come into the prodigious talents of his matron clan. It is truly an ingenious seal but it comes at a great disadvantage. The seal is literally a direct link to Naruto's chakra. It is only a simple task to," Orochimaru pressed a nail into Tomu's skin and with Tomu's blood marked over the seal, "poison his chakra."

Tomu's eyes widened when the seal turned black instead of the normal red. "What have you done?" Tomu demanded, and then his heart sped a beat when he felt the seal begin to activate. "No, Naruto, _no_."

Wind rushed past when Naruto appeared in the room. Immediately his blue eyes widened as he stumbled out of his offensive stance. Naruto snarled at the sight of Orochimaru, looked around and immediately identified where they were. "Inside the Third Hokage's head, very fucking mature."

"The old man had a big head." Orochimaru chuckled as he placed a foot atop the Hokage's chest. "Hokage-sama, have you ever had chakra-poisoning before? Let me explain. Usually chakra exhaustion leaves you cold. But with chakra-poisoning you burn up, you begin to sweat, your tenketsu points are on fire, and every jutsu you attempt is an unsuccessful searing pain of agony."

A rasengan flickered in Naruto's hand and Naruto threw back his head with a grimace. Naruto attempted to focus and gather nature chakra but suddenly realized that the poison was causing an imbalance. He could easily accidentally turn himself into a stone frog.

Naruto dug sharp nails into Orochimaru's ankles, twisted until Orochimaru rolled back, and despite the pain Naruto forced himself to his feet. If he couldn't use chakra, then he'd rely on taijutsu.

Naruto movements were too slow. He froze against the sharp blade of Orochimaru's katana that suddenly trapped his neck between the wall and the metal edge of the sword. Orochimaru turned back to look at Tomu with a grin, "Choose."

"What?"

"Choose who will live: your fiance or the Hokage. At least with her you get a two-in-one-deal."

"Fuck you," Tomu seethed. He had hear stories about this guy but nothing prepared him for this type of insanity.

Naruto sagged against the blade and wheezed as the poison burned through his chakra like a blaze. Naruto blink when the edges of his vision turned black. He tried to fight it but the more energy he expended the quicker the poison tore through his system.

"I'm rather surprised it's affecting you this quickly," Orochimaru lifted Naruto's chin as if he was staring at a curiosity. "Are you no longer a jinchuuriki? How did you manage that?" Then Orochimaru's eyes widened with the sudden delight of a child who loved to solve puzzles. Orochimaru snatched up Naruto's shirt, applied chakra, and the seal that had been centered at his stomach five years ago blazed to life around his entire body. The lines of the seal were so thick it was as if Naruto's skin had turned cobalt black.

Naruto's head lolled to the side and met Tomu's terrified gaze. In those wide blue eyes, he was saying goodbye. Tomu shook his head. No, there had to be a way they could all survive this. He just needed a few minutes to regenerate enough chakra to move.

Mushi snatched at the hiraishin kunai Tomu had used to move them from the hive and declared, "Long live the Hokage."

And she stabbed the kunai into her heart.

"Mushi!" Tomu screamed, in tears, unable to even crawl forward to hold her as she died. Blood spread across the floor and warmed Tomu's fingers. Tomu screamed as he watched the light dim from her eyes. Tomu's eyes pulsed with pain and suddenly a surged of chakra burst through him when his chakra networks expanded to accommodate the aching power activated in his eyes.

Tomu picked himself up and caught Mushi in her arms, helpless as her dying breath etched forever into his memory.

"Not how I thought this was going to pan out but I got what I wanted in the end." Orochimaru looked accomplished as he studied the sight of Tomu's bloody eyes, a mangekyou swirling like a three-pronged shuriken.

Orochimaru turned to leave.

"What about Naruto?" Tomu demanded.

"Honestly, I figure you'd choose him to die." Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't planning on letting him live."

Tomu screamed in fury and his anger gave birth to violent black flames. The entire rooms flashed as hot as the surface of the sun in an instant. The black flames began to melt rock, eat through earth, and roar unheeded into the open air. But they had been too slow to catch Orochimaru.

"Tomu, you've got to deactivate the jutsu. The flames will consume the entirety of Konoha." Naruto coughed on the rising smoke and stared helpless as the flames drew closer.

"I can't," Tomu wept as he clutched his arms around Mushi's corpse in an attempt to protect her from the inferno he had started. They didn't stop, but continued to grow without any control or direction from him. "I don't know how to stop it. Naruto, where's Sasuke? I need Sasuke."

"Fuck me," Naruto grumbled as he began to fall out of consciousness.

Tomu stared at Mushi, turned to Naruto, and dropped Mushi with shaking hands. He would not let her sacrifice be in vain. Tomu leapt and twisted around the flames to reach Naruto. Tomu immediately began to go through Naruto's pockets, found his stash of hiraishin kunai and began reading the seal through the dark light of the flames.

He found the one that read 'Sakura'. She was probably at the hospital. He didn't know if he had enough chakra to make the jump but it didn't matter. He wasn't going to lose both Mushi and Naruto. Just as the flames caught on Naruto's cloak, Tomu activated the jutsu.

* * *

"Have you found him yet?" Sakura asked nervously from the roof of the hospital. Captain Snake stood still on the edge of the roof.

"No. We have every Hyuuga searching. We will find him," Captain Snake answered. Sakura knew that it would take time to find wherever the Hokage disappeared to, if he was even in Konoha at all, but it's been five minutes thus far and nothing.

Captain Tiger was operating from the Hokage's Tower, Captain Hound was overseeing the rescue operation of the Aburame Hive, and Captain Snake tasked with locating the Hokage.

"Can't you just hiraishin to him?" Sakura asked.

"The moment he activated the hiraishin jutsu his chakra went dark, which is why it has been difficult locating him. The hiraishin technique draws on his chakra, if I was to hiraishin to him without knowing the situation..."

"You could kill him," Sakura acknowledged as she cursed.

"Found him."

It was hard not to miss black flames suddenly burst forth from the eyes sockets of the Sandaime. "Sakura, he's suffering from a chakra poison."

"There was something about a chakra poison in Orochimaru's file. I'll handle it."

As Sakura raced across the roof she heard Snake speaking into the radio, "Contact Uzumaki Ame immediately. I believe Naruto has taught her the Fire Sealing Method. Send her and a team to extinguish Amaterasu."

"Prepare a room in the intensive care unit," Sakura immediately ordered and picked up the ANBU file on Orochimaru from her desk. She immediately sent an order down to the lab that Tsunade was currently overseeing for the antidote.

"Sakura," Captain Snake said over the radio into her ear. "Both Tomu and Naruto are coming your way. Tomu will be suffering from an extreme level of chakra exhaustion."

"Copy," Sakura answered as she instantly began ordering her medic team to make preparations.

Suddenly both Naruto and Tomu appeared atop hospital beds and without hesitation they were rolled into their respective rooms. Sakura pressed a stethoscope against Naruto's chest. She tightened her hand into a fist and then slapped her hand across Naruto's face until he jolted from unconsciousness.

"Naruto, can you hear me?" Sakura demanded.

Naruto gave a wary nod, more concerned by whatever he did to make Sakura pissed off at him. "Listen to me, start dismissing your shadows clones one by one. You'll recover chakra and slow down the rate of the poison."

"Some clones are... on sensitive missions," Naruto said as he watched the medical equipment set up around him.

"Naruto, dismiss all of your fucking clones or you'll die before Tsunade can make the antidote."

"Yes, mam," Naruto said immediately just as Sakura stuck a needle into his arm. The machine that monitored chakra levels spiked at a steady rate once Naruto focused on dismissing his clones.

Sakura bit her lips and knew this was only going to give them a few minutes. Then the machine stopped beeping. "Naruto, what's going on?"

"That's it, no more clones," Naruto whispered. it's been years since he's existed without a clone or a hundred actively deployed.

"Tsunade, what's the time on the antidote?"

"Ten minutes. We're working as fast as we can," Tsunade answered through the radio.

Sakura slammed her hand down and attempted to think of any way she could slow down the poison. Sakura leaned forward and whispered, "Naruto, is there no way we can unlock the Kyuubi?"

Naruto shook his head. "I had my memories of the seal completely wiped. I can't even unlock the Kyuubi if I wanted to and..." Naruto tightened a hand around Sakura's arm. "Perhaps it's my time."

"No," Sakura snapped. "Konoha is not ready to lose you. I'm not ready to lose you. " Sakura's hands were trembling.

"Okay," Naruto said as he closed his eyes. "You haven't failed me yet."

It shook Sakura to her core how much faith Naruto placed in her. He was the strong one but sometimes even the strongest fall and it was always up to her to pick him back up.

"I have an idea," Sakura said startling herself. Sakura sent an order to one of her nurses and in seconds, they returned with a bottle of chakra pills. "They should give you enough chakra to survive until the antidote is finished."

"Haruno-sama, if he crashes before the antidote is finished..."

Sakura stuffed a handful of pills, a number far beyond regulation, and shoved them down the Hokage's throat. She watched a spike in his chakra.

"How is Tomu?" Naruto whispered.

"He's stable in the other room," Sakura assured him as she swept the blonde strands of his hair away from his sweaty forehead.

"Oi Sakura," Naruto's voice faded ever so softly. "You'll be fine because you... you... were always the strongest one of us."

Sakura whipped around when Tsunade stormed into the room with the antidote. Sakura gave a breath of relief, injected the antidote into the ventilator, and pressed the breathing mask against Naruto's mouth.

"Inhale deeply," Sasuke instructed. "The poison is in your chakra networks which means you need to inhale the antidote." Sakura watched his chest rise and fall. The machine monitoring his chakra began to stabilize.

"I've got you," Sakura whispered. "I've always got you."

* * *

No. No. No. _No._

Crow raced forward through the halls of the hospital. The silent ANBU standing as sentries passed him in a blur. The silence pounded against Crow's head like a headache. He passed several ANBU Captains. He passed Ichigo. He passed Ame. He passed Sakura. He passed Hinata. He passed Tsunade.

He passed Tomu with wide haunted red eyes.

Crow had collected tears by the time he crashed through the hospital door.

He collapsed and felt all his strength leave him at the sight of Naruto's chest fall and rise in the hospital bed. Tubes protruded from his tans arms. A mask covered Naruto's face, breathing into him.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A frail arm lifted from the bed. The hand flexed open and slowly placed a finger down until only the middle one remained.

Crow blinked.

"Naruto," Sakura reprimanded. "I told you not to move."

Once Crow realized that Naruto didn't seem to be dying, just that he thoroughly got his ass kicked and didn't seem to be healing like usual, Crow stepped forward to study Naruto further and reached down to pull the mask off Naruto's face.

Crow suddenly dunked as a chair came flying toward him.

"Who the fuck gave you permission to come into my hospital and start moving shit?" Sakura demanded.

"About damn time," Naruto wheezed from the bed once he was free of the mask.

"Naruto, that mask is filtering the antidote through your lungs. Put it back on before the poison starts taking effect again."

Naruto clawed a weak hand through Crow's shirt. "I've decided not to kill you until Orochimaru is as dead as we can make him."

Crow was okay with that.

Sakura stomped over to the other side of Naruto's bed. "No Hokage business until you can at least sit up."

"Teme."

Without hesitation, Crow reached down, grabbed Naruto by the shirt and thrust him into a sitting position. Sakura's foot came flying into Crow's face. She was faster than he remembered which caught him off guard and landed his face into the floor. Crow looked up at the smug smile Naruto gave as he leaned over the hospital railing.

"At least I didn't get my ass kicked by Orochimaru," Crow grumbled.

"At least… at least…" Naruto didn't have a comeback. "Sakura, punch him in the face."

"You do it," Sakura huffed as she removed her heel out of Sasuke's shoulder and leaned against the hospital rail with a smug smirk as she watched Naruto attempt to climb out of bed but only looked like a wiggling land-locked fish.

Even Sasuke smiled at Naruto's expense when he finally picked himself off the floor and rolled his shoulder. The end of Sakura's shoe felt like a fucking kunai.

Naruto gave in and collapsed back into the pillow. He stared up at the ceiling of the hospital in thought. Naruto might be in a hospital bed but he could certainly start thinking about his next move. "Why didn't Orochimaru take Tomu? Was all of this simply just to awaken the mangekyou?"

"Maybe he didn't have the time," Sakura suggested. "Perhaps Tomu accidently activating Amaterasu prevented him from carrying out the rest of his plan."

Crow's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Because he's not ready," Crow whispered. "Tomu's isn't physically ready. He's needs more training before he can become the perfect vessel for Orochimaru." Crow tightened his hand into fists. "He wants me to keep training Tomu. And I suspect he decided to strike now simply because it was a perfect opportunity."

Naruto chewed on that information.

"When you're not talking, at least put the mask on." Sakura leaned forward and slam the mask back onto Naruto's face.

"What exactly happened?" Sasuke asked. "How did Orochimaru put you in the hospital?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Sakura knew she wouldn't be able to kick Sasuke out until they talked business. She had no idea that Sasuke's presence is what Naruto had ordered the Captain when he thought she wasn't looking. Sakura crossed her arms and described what happened so Naruto could focus on breathing.

"The fact that Orochimaru was able to manipulate your jutsu and uproot your kunai means he's been watching all of us for some time now." Maybe even years. Crow shuddered at the thought.

"Naruto, you might need to get rid of that jutsu," Sakura suggested.

"No." Naruto said firmly. "It allows me to get to my children when they are in trouble. At this point, Orochimaru is the only person with enough knowledge of seals to abuse it. I'm not going to just get rid of it. I'll figure out another way to counteract him."

"Why aren't you healing?" Sasuke suddenly asked. Sakura and Naruto shared a look.

Naruto pulled down the mask and said, "Five years ago, I sealed away the Kyuubi and completely separated his chakra from mine. I heal like normal people, thanks to you I've learned even my clones can get drunk now, and no more kyuubi cloak."

Sasuke jaw dropped as he processed that information. "That means you can't use your chakra cloak or bijuu mode anymore. How are you still Kage?" Then Sasuke paused and a bitter laugh suddenly escaped his lips. "I've lost the sharingan and you've lost the Kyuubi. We're still fucking equal, except now even Sakura can kick our ass."

"My money was always on her," Naruto pointed out and gave Sakura a great grin behind the mask.

"Enough sucking up. I'm not giving you any ramen." Then Sakura planted her hand on her hip as she turned to Sasuke, "You're still an ass. Naruto, why did you tell him that?"

"Sasuke would've figured it out eventually. Orochimaru knows now. Who knows how much longer I'll be able to keep this a secret," Naruto said as he laid back into the pillow. "Everyone will be wondering why I'm not up and about by tomorrow."

"We'll deal with that later. Right now you need to rest."

Naruto found Sasuke's eyes from the bed. "Where do you think Orochimaru has gone? Do you know of any secret bases he might have fled to?"

Sasuke frowned. "I don't think Orochimaru has fled anywhere. I think he's still in Konoha."

Just fucking great. Naruto stuck the mask back onto his face and took a deep breath.

Sasuke watched Naruto turn on his side and inhale the antidote through the mask. Sasuke had helped Orochimaru developed that chakra poison. He's watched people die screaming because of it.

Then Naruto slightly lifted the mask and whispered, "If you hadn't said anything at the wedding, everyone I ever cared about would have been dead. If you hadn't been here to write the file on Orochimaru, they wouldn't have known how to make the antidote. Maybe if you had been there, Mushi would not have had to die. I let my personal feelings grow stronger than my duty to Konoha. I lost because I couldn't be the better man."

"I'll burn the whole world down and make Orochimaru pay for what he's done to you."

"Haven't you learned anything, Sasuke? Revenge is selfish." Sasuke drew back angrily. "You just told me you want Orochimaru as dead as I do."

"Because I'm the Hokage. That's my job." Naruto's weak hand beckoned Sasuke closer so he didn't have to expend so much effort talking across the room. "I hereby suspend you from active duty in ANBU. Turn in your mask, katana, and flak jacket to Captain Tiger. While I am hospitalized, a seal will be placed on you to limit your chakra. You will not turn Konoha upside down looking for Orochimaru."

Naruto didn't move when Sasuke threw down a punch that landed beside Naruto's ear. Sakura bodily put herself between Sasuke and Naruto and pressed a firm hand around the offending limb much too close to the Kage's head. ANBU rushed into the room. Naruto lifted a hand that stopped them in their tracks. Naruto's blue eyes were bright with all the strength his body didn't currently possess. "If you don't like the arrangement, you can leave. I'm certainly in no condition to stop you right now. But you walk out that gate and we're at the Valley of the End all over again and this time I'm not chasing after you."

Sasuke's arm shook with anger. He wanted to hunt Orochimaru. He needed Orochimaru to burn.

"I never asked you to chase me," Sasuke snarled before snapping his arm away from Sakura. Then he stormed angrily out the door.

Sakura crossed her arms. It's been such a long time but Sasuke's anger was hard to forget, as distinguishing a feature as his raven hair. "What do you think he'll choose to do?"

"Leave," Naruto said softly as he turned in bed and sucked in the antidote to numb his burning chakra networks. "You get too used to seeing a person walk away, that's all you begin to expect of them. But I hope he stays. I'm afraid I can't beat Orochimaru without him. He knows how Orochimaru thinks. He knows his jutsu. For some reason, Orochimaru is still drawn to him."

Sakura turned and grasped Naruto's hand tightly in hers. "Why are you boys always leaving me out? We're a team, Naruto."

Naruto gave a bitter smile. "We haven't been a team in a long time."

"Well, Orochimaru better watch out," Sakura said as she looked over her shoulder and gave Naruto an encouraging fist pump, "because no one can defeat Team 7 but ourselves."

* * *

**x**

* * *

**Relationships don't cut neatly.**

* * *

 


	11. Poison

"We need to hit the streets before Orochimaru's trail goes completely cold. Those hunter-nin don't know what the fuck they are doing. I realize now that my investigation hit a dead-end because I lacked your knowledge of Konoha but together we can find him."

Tomu had stopped listening to Sasuke five minutes ago. When Sasuke finally ran out of words, Tomu lifted one finger and said, "First, Naruto told you to leave Orochimaru the fuck alone." Two fingers, "Second, even though chakra exhaustion is an easy enough condition to heal with _rest_ , Sakura hasn't dismissed me from the hospital and unlike you and Naruto, I have learned a healthy fear of that woman." Three fingers, "Third, I am still pissed off that you never said anything about Orochimaru." Four fingers, "No."

"No?" Sasuke said as if he could never get used to hearing that word.

"Is that all you heard?" Tomu didn't know how many ways he had to say the same thing to get his point across. Tomu said more slowly, punctuating his words, "I don't give a shit about finding Orochimaru."

"What?" Sasuke asked, outright confused, as if someone pointed to a shuriken and said it was a kunai. What happened to the Tobirama curse? How could this be? "How are you not angry?"

Tomu picked at the loose threading of the hospital sheets to avoid the heated gaze Sasuke bore down on him. "Revenge doesn't bring them back."

Sasuke's glower twisted into a snarl. Tomu had finally betrayed him, just like everyone else.

Tomu watched as Sasuke splintered the door from the hinges as he stormed out of the hospital room. A few seconds later, Tomu wished Sasuke's mad ravings still took up space in the room because now he was alone.

The silence was a constant reminder of what was missing.

* * *

"This is mutiny."

Naruto couldn't believe that his ANBU Captains had the gall to gather all of the women in his life in one room to attack him like this. He was on bed rest for crying out loud. This was unfair. Naruto crossed his arms and addressed the individuals in the room as if he was sitting at his desk in the Kage's office. "No, I already made my decision."

Naruto was taken aback when Tsunade slapped his forehead, completely destroying the formality he was trying to establish.

"Look here, brat." Naruto winced. He knew nowadays Tsunade only pulled out that endearment when she thought he was being childish or stupid. "We all agree that Konoha needs to return immediately to a sense of normalcy but none of us can allow you to make that speech tomorrow."

"I'm the Hokage," Naruto argued, but as he said the words Tsunade patted his forehead like a mother to a feverish child.

"Naruto," Sakura did that thing where she put one hand on her hip and wagged a finger in his face. "It will take weeks for your chakra networks to normalize. In the meantime, it would be dangerous for you to even do a shadow clone. You can't, under any circumstances, perform a jutsu until I say it's okay."

ANBU Snake both represented the interests of the ANBU Captains who had collectively agreed that the Hokage was being unreasonably stubborn and to also add a threatening presence to the room that Naruto felt keenly. He felt as if this underhanded attack was her concoction. "This is the situation, Hokage-sama: You chakra signature is so unique and bright to a sensor, that the moment you used your hiraishin technique and the poison took effect, it was as if the sun had gone out over Konoha."

"Seriously, _Hokage-sama_ , haven't you yet learned the basics of chakra suppression?" Sakura asked in exasperation.

"Hey, I do it… outside the village. Why would I suppress my chakra in my own village? That's like telling me I can't walk around my bedroom in my underwear."

There were collective groans from the women in the room.

"Regardless, even the weakest sensor noticed when your chakra went dark, and later when all of your clones disappeared from Konoha. Captain Tiger managed to put teams on all our known spies in Konoha to make sure they didn't leak information we don't want on the outside. During Orochimaru's attack the entire village was locked down and it continues to be so in order to control the flow of information under the guise of 'searching for Orochimaru.'

After the speech tomorrow, we are going to try to return Konoha to "normal" as soon as possible which includes reopening the gate. The general populace will believe you have recovered from the havoc Orochimaru has caused but some sensors will still sense that something is wrong. They might guess you're not at full health. In case your condition does get out, we need to prepare."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Naruto, you're on everyone's hit list. If your condition leaks, everyone will realize something is wrong with the Kyuubi and every country you have ever wronged, pissed off, or just trying to get ahead will send assassins. Even our friends will be tempted to exploit this opportunity.

"That is why Shikamaru has developed a plan," Captain Snake explained. "After the speech, Konoha will henge various ANBU agents as you and station them around Konoha at your usual hangout spots to project the illusion of your shadow clones. It won't fool everyone but it will add confusion for potential assassins. They Hyuuga clan will henge themselves as the clones on guard at the Uzumaki compound. Tsunade will henge as you in the office and serve as interim Hokage while you are healing."

"And where will I be?" Naruto asked with his eyes narrowed. He hadn't even gotten to this part of the plan when the other ANBU Captains tried to explain it. He had immediately declared, 'no' when they suggested he forego the speech tomorrow in favor of Tsunade henged as him instead. But of course, Captain Snake had already formulated ways to present their case more carefully.

"Safe," Captain Snake replied simply.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Naruto knew he wasn't going to like this one bit.

"Naruto, no matter what, we need you to heal. Just think of this as an extended vacation," Sakura suggested. Everyone could see that Naruto was losing patience with the evasive maneuvers. It was time to be frank. Sasuke leveled a gaze at the Hokage in the hospital bed. "We're smuggling you out of Konoha."

"WHAT?!"

"We all know it will be extremely hard for you to sit still and do nothing if something goes wrong, which is why we decided you need to recover somewhere where news do not travel." Tsunade answered. "You need to heal. And even if Konoha is burning down, you've got to stay safe."

Sakura turned to Captain Snake. "I heard there is an island that's beautiful this time of year."

"Very beautiful," Captain Snake punctuated.

"No, no, no." Naruto said decisively. There was no way he was going to be taken out of Konoha at a time like this. "What about my children? What about the clan? I can't abandon them. I can't abandon Konoha. What if something really does happen while I'm away?"

"And you come back and get yourself killed?" Captain Snake asked, then her tongue turned so sharp it cut her next sentence into a double meaning, "You would leave your children fatherless?"

A sudden silent conversation flowed between Naruto and that impassive Snake mask. He knew there was only one child she was referring to at the moment.

"I'm the Hokage," Naruto repeated again as if it was the only shield he had left against this brutal assault. It was insanity to take him out of the village even though he secretly agreed that his enemies will never looked anywhere but in the village for him. It was an ingenious plan, only one Shikamaru was capable of, but it required too much of him.

At once, all three women turned their heads to the one person who hadn't spoken yet. Ame leaned against the window with her arms crossed and a sliver of thought running between her brows. Ame had purposely waited for the others to weaken his defenses. Now she was going to go in for the kill.

Ame lifted herself from the window, walked over to Naruto's bed, and sat on the edge. Ame frowned when she placed her hand atop his. She knew the contrast of their complexions by heart. Her father was pale, and weak, and limp under her touch. The strength she was used to in those hands had been drained away.

"You almost died," Ame whispered, accusatory.

"Hey," Naruto said as he attempted to squeeze her hand reassuringly but found that instead, the limb gave a noncommittal tug. They both stared at their hands and Naruto watched as Ame's squeezed his instead.

Ame's hold tightened in anger. "You almost died and I would not have even gotten a chance to say goodbye. I was too far away. I couldn't save you. I felt so helpless and afraid and…" Ame suddenly drew a dry breath and broke down into tears.

Naruto broke down with her. "I'm so sorry," Naruto apologized as he wrapped his arms around his scared teenage daughter.

Many considered him the strongest shinobi in the world, but even Naruto had his limits. Naruto pressed his face into his daughter's hair and whispered hoarsely, "Okay."

* * *

Naruto pouted as he watched Hinata activate her byakugan and uproot all of his hiraishin kunai he had hidden over the island. "If I can't use chakra, this means you're basically stranding me here."

"You could swim."

"Very funny." Naruto winced when she found the last of his kunai.

Hinata checked the fridge to make sure it had enough ramen to keep Naruto content for weeks. "Sakura will visit you in a few days to check on your progress."

"Wait, you're not going to stay the night?" Naruto asked in alarm.

"Naruto," Hinata said with a hint of amusement. "The Hokage is out of Konoha. Someone has to protect it."

"Seriously?!" Naruto didn't think he's ever spent a night alone on the island before. "And what did you mean back there about leaving my child fatherless?"

"Naruto, if you die, the village will undoubtedly fall to war. That's not a conducive environment to have a child," Hinata chastised him.

Naruto frowned at the implication. "How am I supposed to stay here with you pregnant?"

"At the moment you are far more vulnerable than I am. I'm not going to suddenly go into labor at two months."

Naruto rubbed his face at the frustration of it all. The recent spiral of events had caught him up in an uncontrollable whirlwind. He wasn't used to not being in control. "I'm sorry. I didn't see Orochimaru coming."

The byakugan user cringed and shared the Hokage's sense of failure as she whispered, "I didn't see him either."

"I'm not going to make the same mistake," Naruto determined. "He's not going to catch me by surprise again." After all, he had several long weeks of recovery to think of a plan to counteract Orochimaru.

"No," Hinata already knew what he was planning to do. "Use this time to rest. We will deal with Orochimaru after you have healed. Just, please, don't do anything stupid." Then she disappeared with the hiraishin kunai.

Naruto grunted as he collapsed back onto the bed to the smell of Hinata seeped into the pillow. It suddenly occurred to him that for the first time in years he was truly alone. He didn't have a shadow clone deployed and he no longer had the Kyuubi. It was just him – whole, and memories from various shadow clones that could easily add up to thousands of years.

He always hated the quiet.

"Healing like normal people sucks."

* * *

The sudden knock snapped Tomu awake. He gasped out of sleep, searched around the room, and felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach at the sight of the hospital drab walls around him. He could have sworn Mushi's warmth had been sleeping right beside him. He could have sworn that the smell of her hair was in his nose. He could have sworn it had all been just some terrible nightmare.

Tomu's shoulders sunk at the realization that the nightmare was never going to end. His head snapped up when the door opened. Captain Tiger walked into the room.

"Shit," Tomu cursed as he scrambled up from the bed, stood and greeted the Captain with an awkward bow. He could feel the breeze in the back of his hospital robe. Tomu had always suspected that the Captain knew who he was but the man had never acknowledged it. After all, Tomu highly doubted that Naruto would assign him to a Captain who wasn't aware of his sharingan. It was surreal to suddenly confront him without the mask.

"At ease," the Captain ordered.

Tomu slowly drifted back down to sit on his bed.

"I understand this is a violation of protocol but considering the circumstances I felt in my right to break them." Without hesitation, the Captain immediately disclosed the plan to keep the Hokage safe from possible assassination attempts.

Tomu had to admit it was a very detailed and complex plan. He was surprised Naruto agreed to go along with it. "Where is Naruto right now?"

"To prevent the possibility of leaks only a select few are privy to that information." Which meant even Captain Tiger didn't know.

Tomu knew the Captain wasn't in here to give him flowers and wished him to get better soon. "What do you need me to do?"

"Dr. Haruno has not cleared you from the hospital but an ANBU Captain outranks her. I know you've had a bad day but with the Hokage out of the village, I need you on the streets now."

Tomu stared at the Captain who had the gall to summarize the death of his wife and unborn child, almost death by chakra exhaustion, and his unwanted confrontation with the most infamous ninja in the world as just a fucking bad day.

The Captain must have noticed the change that came over Tomu's face. "We all have bad days kid. Regardless, there's work to do."

The words were automatic, an instinct bred after five years in service, "Yes, sir."

Tomu frowned after he said the words, but he picked himself up, and out of habit, force his body forward.

* * *

Sasuke overturned the couch and it tumbled angrily into the coffee table. They hadn't left even a scrap of paper. All of Orochimaru's notes and journals had already been confiscated out of Tomu's apartment. He had turned the apartment upside down hoping that they had missed something. Nothing.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. Most likely they had moved the documents to the ANBU underground. When he was imprisoned, they had taken his mask, flak jacket, and katana. Without his mask it would be impossible to gain access to the documents. Sasuke decided that in the end it didn't really matter. He had already gone over those documents a hundred times and they hadn't yielded a clue. He would somehow find Orochimaru even if he had to search every fucking street.

As Sasuke walked out of the apartment, he spotted a shadow following him at a distance in his peripheral vision. Sasuke found himself annoyed and more than irked by its presence. He wouldn't be able to find Orochimaru with Konoha following behind him. Judging by the safe distance the ANBU maintained, it was probably a Hyuuga.

"ANBU," Sasuke taunted and pointed to a house on the other side of the street. The lights were on and probably occupied. Then he sucked in a breath. The ANBU was before him so fast that the fire prematurely died as a scratch of ash in Sasuke's throat.

"If you bring harm to the citizens of Konoha, you will immediately be eliminated."

Sasuke licked the unspent smoke on his lips and asked mockingly, "Naruto can't even use chakra to activate the seal he's embedded in my shoulder. Who exactly is going to stop me? You?"

Sasuke noted the ANBU's slick narrow build and short hair brushed back into a ponytail. But his suspicions were confirmed when a light breeze brought the smell of the ANBU's honey-lavender shampoo. "You didn't fare too well against me last time, Hyuuga."

"This does not need to be a confrontation. I have been assigned to supervise you while you still remain in Konoha."

Taking advantage of the split second before a Hyuuga activated their byakugan, Sasuke rushed forward and full body-tackled the unsuspecting Hyuuga. Sasuke slapped his hand against the mask and slammed the ANBU's head back into the stone wall. The blow had been so hard, blood smeared along the stone when the ANBU sagged. Sasuke knew for a certainty his opponent was currently suffering the ill effects of a minor concussion.

Sasuke moved to disable the Jyuuken, but found his hand unexpectedly slapped to the side as the Hyuuga fought the lights swimming in his eyes. Sasuke countered, slammed a knee into his opponent's gut and stole the air from the ANBU's next attack. Sasuke twisted up the Hyuuga's wrist, stabbed the fine point of the kunai into the center of his palm at the chakra point, and pinned it viciously into the stone. Sasuke followed with the other hand until he had the Jyuuken hands of the Hyuuga completely immobilized.

Then Sasuke took the Crane mask off Hohei's face.

Now that he had the boy at his mercy, Sasuke grabbed him roughly by the chin. Sasuke demanded, mockingly, "Are you going to stop me little Hyuuga?"

Hohei gave a defiant gaze in return and that impassive mask Sasuke was so used to seeing on the boy's face broke into a scowl and kneed Sasuke in the groin. Sasuke jolted back at the pain. He hadn't seen the blow coming because he was so sure he had already beaten his opponent.

Hohei kicked back and snatched his hands through the kunai. They bled in droplets on the cobblestone. Hohei attempted to flex them but they only twitched pathetically. The alley lit with the green glow of healing chakra and the skin of his hands began to knit back together.

Sasuke looked up as Hohei activated his Jyuuken and prepared his stance. Sasuke adjusted his pants with a dark glower. The boy was going to pay for that. But he was mildly amused that the boy thought he had a chance.

Sasuke sucked in a breath and as expected, Hohei pressed a foot forward, "Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven," and spun so fast the jutsu shielded against the fire.

But whose stamina was greater? Sasuke didn't let up, but burned his katon jutsu greater and hotter as it poured over the Hyuuga. It continued for several minutes until Hohei finally faltered and rolled with a water jutsu to shield himself. Hohei looked up as Sasuke descended with a raikiri.

Sasuke found himself impressed when a lightning jutsu of equal power canceled out his own. Lightning danced off Hohei's fingertips and the air stilled in shock. Sasuke jolted back and caught Hohei's kick against his forearm. Sasuke paused when he shook arm and could feel the flow of chakra within it congest and stutter. He suddenly realized that the Jyuuken technique extended to Hohei's feet.

And very soon learned, it also extended to the elbows and any striking joint. It made for a curious and suddenly unpredictable fighting style. Sasuke never once in his life characterized a Hyuuga as unpredictable.

Sasuke flipped back on his good hand as sweat dripped down his forehead. Without his sword, fighting close range was fatal. "I see the Hyuuga have finally evolved the Jyuuken after thousands of years."

"It's called the Gentle Crane Style," Hohei replied, to both educate the Uchiha arrogance and to catch a quick breath. There was a reason why the Hyuuga Clan Head, despite the flaws in his vision, chose him as one of her protégés.

"Non-gentle Crane Style," Hohei's fingertips lit up with lightning. He thrust an arm forward and Sasuke's eyes widened when he barely evaded the lightning strike that had grazed past so explosively, his left ear was still ringing from the attack. Sasuke realized suddenly that the Hyuuga was no longer dangerous at just close-range.

Sasuke sped through hand seals and two walls thrust up from the ground in front of and behind Hohei, catching him in the middle. Then the top of the trap closed and began to minimize. Hohei studied the jutsu with his byakugan. There was a flaw in its formation, no doubt because of the earlier strike he managed to land on Sasuke's arm. With ease, Hohei touched the flaw, injected chakra to disrupt its pattern, and the entire jutsu came crumbling down in seconds.

Sasuke cringed. He knew it hadn't been constructed as perfectly as it could have been due to the constant seizing of his chakra network in his right arm. Although the dirt wall crumbled faster than expected, it gave Sasuke time to prepare another jutsu.

Hohei stumbled when a sharp pillar of earth slammed out the wall behind him, penetrating through his blind spot, and skewering him in the stomach. Hohei's knees dropped and hung limped, scraping his hands around the stake that had him pinned.

Sasuke released the jutsu and Hohei dropped to the ground. Sasuke walked over and crouched atop Hohei. "Heal yourself before you bleed out," Sasuke commanded.

Hohei hand shook as he pressed his hand against his stomach and closed the fatal wound. After it was done, Sasuke lifted Hohei's hand and caressed over the lithe fingers. He could still feel the remnants of warmth from the healing chakra. "All these years and the Hyuuga haven't done anything about that blind spot?"

"It's not easy," Hohei attempted to explain as his gaze followed the way Sasuke stroked his fingers. Neji was the only Hyuuga who has managed to close his bind spot. It wasn't a simple thing to do.

Sasuke leaned forward and berated the young Hyuuga who thought he had a chance, "You're not good enough," and then proceeded to snap back Hohei's middle finger in a perfect ninety-degree angle.

Hohei didn't flinch. It was a testament to his ANBU training that prepared agents to withstand the pain of torture. Although Sasuke was fairly sure Tomu couldn't lay still as someone being pampered with a massage while Sasuke broke every single one of his fingers.

Sasuke dropped Hohei's hand and the mangled fingers twisted in every direction. With both hands broken, Sasuke ensured Hohei couldn't make a seal, much less heal himself. Then Sasuke reached an arm under the boy's leg and broke the bone clean.

Hohei didn't make a sound as if breaking a leg happened every day. Sasuke had to admit he admired the kid's resiliency. Hohei lost and accepted the punishment without complaint. Now, Sasuke was absolutely certain he could no longer be followed.

Sasuke lifted the glasses from Hohei's face, dropped them on the ground, and crushed them underfoot.

"That's just spiteful," Hohei muttered.

"That's for kicking me in the balls."

"You could have just killed me. I didn't think the Uchiha would bother to expend so much effort to immobilize me so… thoroughly."

Sasuke had been walking away from the alleyway and paused at Hohei's words. It would have been a lot simpler just to kill him. But he didn't. Sasuke shook his head. "You're not my target."

"At least a Hyuuga knows their blindspot," Hohei said with such smugness it was as if he had won.

Sasuke whipped around, snapped back his leg, and kicked Hohei in the face so hard he flipped on his stomach and landed with a broken jaw. "You talk too much Hyuuga."

Now, he had a snake to find.

* * *

Tomu had to go to his apartment and retrieve his ANBU gear. It was a testament to how much he was on auto-pilot when he had no reaction to the sight of the wreckage in his apartment. He grabbed his things and quickly left before the gaping hole of what was missing caught up to him.

The humid night air was suffocating. Timid droplets of rain began to drip into his hair. Tomu decided he would start with the Red Lights District and see what rumors were floating around the streets. Tomu didn't make it two blocks when he noticed signs of a battle that had been fought between two high-level ninja. A battle of that magnitude was never a good thing. There was always death involved.

Tomu activated his sharigan and followed burnt cobblestones into an alleyway. Tomu raced toward the unconscious figure he saw with his sharingan, but anyone else would have overlooked it hidden in the shadows. At first sight, his sharingan noticed everything all at once: the blood, the bone peeking out of the man's thigh, shattered glass, fingers distorted unnaturally, the fallen ANBU mask, and his face.

"Hohei, what happened?" Tomu scrambled forward as he pulled his best friend into his arms. Hohei's head lolled against Tomu's chest as his eyes dragged open. For a brief second, a memory of Mushi limp in his arms had him shaking. "Who did this?" Tomu demanded hoarsely.

Hohei didn't answer but Tomu had noticed the burns, the fresh smell of overturned earth, and the crackle of lighting in the air. There was only one person with such an arsenal of jutsu.

Now, Tomu was angry.

* * *

After Tomu dropped Hohei off at the hospital, he hit the streets looking for his deranged psychotic cousin.

Sasuke wasn't that hard to find. The man glared at everything and everyone as if that somehow would help him find Orochimaru. From the rooftops, Tomu followed Sasuke along the street, until he suddenly turned a corner and Sasuke was gone.

"Shit," Tomu cursed when he picked himself up from his crouch. Then he noticed a purposeful sound and turned to find that Sasuke had joined him on the roof.

"Have you finally decided to help me with Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked, irksome that his efforts had yielded nothing thus far.

Tomu knew he would never be able to beat Sasuke in a physical fight, but his fists were clamped with a snaking rage he rarely experienced. "He was my best friend, Sasuke."

Sasuke could have rolled his eyes at Tomu's melodrama. "I didn't kill him."

Tomu couldn't fathom the insanity of the fact that Sasuke didn't see any wrong in what he had done. "You broke his fingers, cracked a rib, broke his leg, and broke his jaw."

"The boy's a ninja. Bones heal."

"You don't get it!" Tomu yelled at him. He was frustrated by Sasuke's apparent nonchalance and disregard for human life. "You can't just hurt people because you feel like it! Sasuke Uchiha doesn't deserve a fucking award for letting someone live."

Sasuke sneered. "No one in Konoha cared when my family was massacred. No one cared about their deaths. Why should I care about anyone else's?"

"That was years ago! Stop making excuses to justify your right to hurt people. Just fucking stop, Sasuke. I know Hohei was sleeping with you on order of the village but it would have never come to that if Konoha didn't think you'd kill anyone who you found annoying."

"Wait what?" Sasuke asked, suddenly caught off-guard. It certainly explained why Hohei didn't put up much of a fight after the first time he forced the boy to his knees. He clenched a hand together in anger. It was Iraiya all over again. For a mission. For Konoha. If Sasuke had known this during his encounter with the Hyuuga, Hohei probably would be dead.

"Why am I the only one that deserves your anger?! Orochimaru killed your wife! Konoha threw the Hyuuga at me as if throwing a boy in a den of wolves. After I raped him, not only did Konoha do nothing, but evidently, they ordered him to suck my dick every night after."

Tomu's jaw dropped open and took a stumbling step back.

"And Mushi knew," Sasuke came to the sudden realization. "She kept inviting him over. She was complicit in pimping her best friend out for the "interests" of Konoha. WHY AM I THE FUCKING MONSTER?!"

Tomu opened his mouth, unable to formulate a proper argument other than blind ones fueled by his emotions. Because in the end, Sasuke was right. He was a monster in a village filled with them. He had witnessed how Sasuke's erratic behavior had mellowed before the wedding. He had wrongly assumed that whatever secret relationship Sasuke and Hohei had going was a good thing, a healthy thing. But he had been horribly wrong. Sasuke's stable behavior was far more important to Konoha than the body of one Hyuuga. A decision made by, if Tomu had to hazard a guess which Captain's jurisdiction was in charge of watching Sasuke, Captain Tiger himself.

Tomu closed his eyes and held onto his anger. "You raped him?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "He was there." Even now, Sasuke considered himself to be fairly progressive than he had been before. In the past, he wouldn't have even called it rape. Rough sex, maybe.

"If I could kill you, I would," Tomu hissed under his breath and couldn't stop the mangekyou from activating frenetically under his eyelids. "You disgust me. I don't want you in my life anymore."

"Orochimaru _killed_ your wife and unborn child," Sasuke repeated again. It didn't make sense. How was he seen as the Greater Evil. Why was he being ostracized and betrayed like this?

"And she is dead! And nothing is going to change that. But Hohei is alive, and I can stop you from hurting everyone close to me."

"Is this because I couldn't protect you? I should have told you about Orochimaru," Sasuke conceded. "Next time I promise I will-"

"LISTEN TO ME!" Tomu demanded as he angrily punched Sasuke in the face just to get him to stop talking. "Hohei is my friend. You hurt him. We're done. That's it. There's no more argument. I don't want ever see you again."

"No," Sasuke snarled. Tomu didn't get to determine when they were done with each other. It was Tomu who was twisted up inside with logic that somehow made Sasuke worse than Orochimaru. Sasuke angrily twisted his hand through Tomu's shirt.

"Do it," Tomu mocked and turned his bare cheek to Sasuke and waited for the hit. "Hurt me like you hurt everyone else. You've pushed everyone else away." Then Tomu scowled, "Or kill me like you killed your brother."

Sasuke unsheathed the tanto from Tomu's hip. And for a brief moment, Itachi's dying smile pinned on his sword flashed vivid in his memory. Sasuke caught an intake of breath and the sword rattled on the ground.

"I'm just trying to protect you." The rain began to pull into his eyes. He slackened his grip on Tomu's shirt. Tomu was angry, furious, at him. "How do I make this right?"

"Leave Konoha." Tomu said as he snatched his sword from the ground and sheathed it. "And never return."

* * *

Sakura had just put away her umbrella and thrown off her heels after a long day at the hospital when there was a knock on the door. Sakura grumbled when she swung the door open with a demanding, "What?"

Sakura jolted at the sight of Sasuke dripping wet on her doorstep. For a moment, Sakura couldn't process the sight. Once she got her wits about her, or at least decided not to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming, she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

Sasuke looked up at Sakura. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the words.

Sakura gave an exasperated huff. It was ironic how many years they spent searching to bring him back only to want him gone the moment he had finally returned. "Why don't you just leave Konoha, Sasuke? At least outside those gates you don't have to look me in the face and own up to the apology I have long deserved. At least you don't have to come begging at my doorstep when you have no place to go."

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, to reply, to defend himself… but nothing came out.

He didn't have anywhere else to go. He was no longer ANBU. Tomu had kicked him out. He couldn't return to the compound. He didn't even know why he was here in the first place.

"You're pathetic, Sasuke."

Sakura couldn't believe it took her years to figure that out. Finally, she opened her door.

* * *

Sakura was honestly surprised to find Sasuke still curled up on her couch the next morning. He was awake, staring at the edge of the coffee table but didn't move as Sakura made her way downstairs. She had thirty minutes before she had to get work, but before rushing out, she always started the day with a cup of coffee.

Sakura sat down in the armchair with coffee in hand and looked down on Sasuke as if he was a stray dog dirtying up her couch. "I'm guessing this has something to do with the Hyuuga in my hospital," Sakura sipped her coffee nonchalantly. She didn't expect Sasuke to reply. "The bones were clean breaks. Impressive."

"Tomu didn't think so," Sasuke grumbled as he turned away from her and stared at the flower pattern of her couch.

"You know, ever since the war, those three have been joined at the hip. With Mushi gone, both boys are hurting. It doesn't surprise me that Tomu finally reached his limit. We all do with you, sooner or later."

Sakura finished her coffee and stood to her feet. "I sent a message to your therapist. You have an appointment at two."

Sakura gave one last look behind her before she walked out the door. It was almost a relief to look at Sasuke again and not feel that rush of giddiness that came with a childhood crush. It was almost an equal relief to not feel the righteous fire of anger even though she had every right to it. All she felt was pity.

Before going to the hospital, she made a detour at the Hokage's Tower. Sometime throughout the day she was going to have to stop by the Inuzuka compound where the kids had been staying the night, supposedly to help. The Inuzuka were currently housing the Aburame and helping to rebuild the hive. Sakura didn't want her kids around Sasuke and decided they were actually better off with their grandmother this time around.

When she entered the Hokage's office she was amused to find the Hokage huffing under clouds of paperwork already beginning to gather in the office.

"You know, Naruto doesn't drink. If you're passing as him, you're going to have to hide the sake better than that," Sakura chastised when the sight of Tsunade pouring a cup of sake behind the desk became clearer as she walked further into the office.

"This job is already giving me headaches," Tsunade bemoaned.

"Did a rogue-ninja suddenly go missing?"

Tsunade's head snapped up. "Please tell me you've found the Uchiha."

"He's sleeping on my couch," Sakura answered as she moved to the bookcase. She moved a book that Tsunade had carved out to hide her stash from Shizune and grabbed an extra cup. Sakura dropped down into the seat in front of her mentor. Tsunade lifted the sake bottle from behind the desk and shoved it in Sakura's direction.

"Thank Kami. I can't believe that brat has him in Konoha, and now he's my headache."

"Naruto had his reasons," Sakura replied as she drank sake with the Kage in the early morning. Sakura lifted the cup and toasted, "To fucked up teammates."

With Orochimaru running around loose, Tsunade couldn't agree more. "To fucked up teammates."

* * *

Dr. Yamanaka smiled when Sasuke came into his office. Sasuke wasn't one of his easiest patients but he had grown concerned for him during him absence. Dr. Yamanaka watched as Sasuke collapsed faced down into the duvan, forgoing his usual tradition of first studying any new changes in the room.

"It's good to see you again," Dr. Yamanaka said sincerely.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted from the pillow.

Dr. Yamanaka waited. He took down notes from his last appointment. He rearranged his schedule for tomorrow's psychiatry conference. He finished his coffee.

After almost an hour, Sasuke finally turned his head and whispered, "I can't do anything right."

"We live in a village that pays people to kill for a living. Who's to say what is wrong or right?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "They don't understand. I need to kill Orochimaru. I need to hunt him down and burn him dead."

"Why?" Dr. Yamanaka asked.

"Why?" Sasuke asked as if that should have been obvious. "Because he-" Sasuke paused. Naruto was the one who got hurt. It was Tomu's wife who had died. "Because."

"You're willing to chase Orochimaru to the ends of the earth just because?" Dr. Yamanaka highlighted the insanity of it. "You're not being honest with yourself and it's not until you are can we figure out what is wrong or what is right for you."

Sasuke stared down his hands. Why was he so fucking angry? Sasuke waded through the complex web of his emotions. The moment he saw Naruto lying there helpless, he had a burning need to exact vengeance against Orochimaru. To see light go out in Tomu's eyes, it became all the more urgent. It had something to do with Naruto and Tomu.

His eyes widened.

"Because he almost took them away from me. I almost lost my family all over again."

He didn't understand it before. He didn't understand his anger. He didn't understand his fear. It had been just a knot of emotions he couldn't sort through until he finally managed to put them to words.

"I have to hunt down Orochimaru to make sure he never harms them again. I have to make sure Orochimaru doesn't get to Tomu like he got to me. Tomu doesn't understand now but one day he will. I'm doing this to protect him."

"Does Tomu want your protection?" Dr. Yamanaka asked curiously.

"No," Sasuke said in frustration. "Hunting for Orochimaru has only managed to push Tomu away."

"Who is more important? Tomu or Orochimaru?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, then he closed it. Dr. Yamanaka narrowed his eyes. "Something else is going on here. If you are truly hunting Orochimaru for Tomu's sake then Tomu is your main priority and you should be willing to respect his wishes. But something else is drawing you to Orochimaru. Say it honestly, as best you can, why do you need to kill Orochimaru?"

Sasuke stared at his hands. The doctor made a reasonable argument. If Tomu's well-being was so important to him then why was it so hard to choose Tomu over Orochimaru? The moments ticked by with Sasuke unable to formulate a response.

Then the doctor's timer buzzed.

"See you tomorrow?" Dr. Yamanaka asked imploringly.

Coming back, Sasuke thought it would be awkward. He hadn't seen the doctor since the day Orochimaru appeared to him in Konoha. He was afraid that the doctor could no longer be trusted. But Sasuke fell into the familiar rhythm as if Orochimaru had never come to disrupt it.

"Tomorrow," Sasuke said finally.

* * *

"The last time Orochimaru was in Konoha we suffered many casualties but Konoha did not fall. He did not defeat us. Nor will he defeat us this time either. Sooner or later, there will be no more holes for that man to hide in," The Hokage proclaimed atop the Hokage's Tower to the cheers of the crowd. "And finally let us thank the hero who not only drove off Orochimaru but activated a kekkai genkai Konoha had long thought lost: Uzumaki Tomu!"

It was as if Tomu had swallowed a rock when he stepped forward with his sharingan, for the first time, out in public. Everyone had seen Amaterasu yesterday. It was no longer a secret.

The cheers suddenly decomposed into an awkward silence. From this distance, Tomu was glad he couldn't see the gobsmacked stares and suspicious scrutiny. Finally, one part of the crowd began chanting his name and waving their arms to try and get his attention. Tomu smiled at the sight of the Uzumaki Clan, out in full force today, wreaking havoc.

Cheers from the civilians soon followed, who had a fonder memory of the Uchiha from their interactions with the police force. Then the ninja finally relented.

Tomu gave a great sigh of relief when he finally stepped back. Then his mangekyou caught sight of something in the corner of his eye. Tomu turned as a body suddenly materialized out of the puddle yesterday's rain had left on the roof. Instinctively, Tomu hands moved to form a jutsu but ANBU Hound moved much faster.

To the shocks and gasps of the crowd, Captain Hound beheaded the man, sheathed his sword and suggested to the Hokage, "I think it's time to wrap-up."

"Orochimaru can't defeat Konoha. No one can defeat Konoha," The Hokage said smoothly and motioned to the corpse. Then she turned on her heels and her posse quickly followed after her. Tomu took one glance at the dead man's face and rushed after her with a dread in his stomach.

This was going to be a shitstorm.

"Find out who that man is now." The Hokage said as she stomped down the stairs.

Just a few minutes of static silence over the radio, until an answer came, "He's a ninja of the Momochi Clan."

"ANBU, immediately detain the clan," The Hokage ordered.

Tomu's ANBU tattoo began to burn.

* * *

"You a Uchiha too?" The sushi "butcher" asked sarcastically when Sasuke sat down on the stool, his stomach grumbling. He hated the food here but evidently everyone else in Konoha did too because the small stand was normally empty of customers. He enjoyed the emptiness of it.

"He's a Uzumaki," Sasuke retorted bitterly.

"Same thing," Mizumi Houzuki answered as she dropped a plate of shredded salmon in front of him.

On his way back from his therapy session, Sasuke had bumped into the crowd of people watching the Kage's speech, of who Sasuke knew very well was not Naruto. He was not surprised that they finally went public about the sharingan.

Sasuke broke apart his chopsticks. The food looked ugly, but the taste of it was adequate and cheap enough to pay with the money Sakura had left him. He didn't like the idea of using her money, but he had none himself, and would not lower himself to stealing.

"I remember the third shinobi War. I was just a genin in that one but mist ninja hated the Uchiha because they could see through the mist with their damn sharingan. We always targeted them first. Tough bastards. By the way, how is Tomu holding up? I heard he lost his wife."

Sasuke grunted in response.

The bell chimed when three more customers walked in. Sasuke turned a curious eye and wondered if they knew where they had wandered into. Suddenly five people at the stand seemed a crowd and he was ready to leave.

Sasuke paused when he noted a kunai brandished out in the open in one of the ninjas hands. The leader declared, "You tried to assassinate the Hokage."

"That was a member of the Momochi Clan."

"Same thing," the man said, flinging back words she had just spoken moments ago. Mizumi's hand tightened on the knife she had been using to cut fish as the three men tossed over chairs and kicked a hole through the wood of the stand.

Sasuke didn't understand why she wasn't fighting back. This was childish and nonsensical and he wanted to eat. Then one snatched at her hair and pulled her forward, slamming her face into the table. "Let's see if this bitch bleeds water when she loses her other arm." They wrenched the knife from her hand.

Now this was getting ridiculous.

The small stand was suddenly lit with the weight of Sasuke's killing intent. The ninja dropped the knife as all three lifted their eyes to stare at him. It was suffocating and burned so fiercely that it threatened to peel back the skin on your arms. It was a killing intent that burned so hot it felt as if your skin was peeling back just under the weight of it.

"I'm eating," Sasuke said two words but they were a thinly laced threat that clearly communicated, 'I will kill you and I will make sure it's long and torturous.'

The ninja stumbled from the stand confused but knew they were out of their league facing down what had to be an A-class or higher. They stumbled over their own feet running out the door.

Mizumi stared at him with a loose jaw before blinking. If there was one thing deeply ingrained within a Mist's ninja's psyche, it was not to ask questions.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Sasuke asked, as if angry for her.

"If I fought back, that would have been on the Houzuki Clan and we'll be worse off in the end," Houzuki answered, then she picked up her butcher knife. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

"I'm hungry," Sasuke answered snidely and then unconsciously caught himself on that lie. How often did he lie to himself as the doctor had claimed? How hard was it to tell the truth? Why was he angry? He attempted to carefully analyze his actions. "Konoha used to treat a friend of mine like that when he was younger. I regret never doing anything about it."

"Well, from now on, you eat for free," Mizumi declared.

Sasuke looked around the empty stand. "How do you even make money?"

Mizumi laughed. "I have plenty of money. For generations the Houzuki clan have cultivated oysters for pearls and we still have non-ninja family members out on our ancestral island continuing the business. Behind the Akimichi and Hyuuga, the Houzuki is one of the richest clans in Konoha."

Mizumi slammed her knife down.

"I just like to cut things."

* * *

Sasuke immediately noted the tense atmosphere once he walked outside the next morning. ANBU were spotted everywhere and they weren't bothering to hide themselves. They must have brought in ANBU from other divisions to help maintain the peace. Nothing that really happened in Konoha affected Sasuke nor did he really concern himself about its affairs. But Tomu was involved and that bothered him.

Sasuke entered the office where Dr. Yamanaka was seated, his glasses hanging low on his nose. Sasuke entered the room to a warm greeting and sat down.

"I was thinking we should start where we left off yesterday. Let's discuss Orochimaru."

Sasuke frowned.

"What metaphor would you use to describe Orochimaru?"

"He's a snake," Sasuke said without hesitation. "A snake that bites his fangs deep into your skin and leaves a poison the gradually drives you insane."

Then the doctor said gently, "Even if you kill the snake, you're still poisoned."

Sasuke drew his brows together flustered as the doctor put his need to kill Orochimaru further into perspective. "Then what do I do?"

"Build a tolerance. We need to deal with the scars he's left on you. To overcome the poison he's injected you with, you've got to talk about it. You've got to confront the past."

"Fine," Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, not truly comprehending the ordeal he had agreed to.

"Let's start with the first time you met Orochimaru."

Sasuke opened his mouth and when nothing came out, he realized this was going to be harder than he thought. He clenched his fists.

"You need to talk about Orochimaru. You need to confront the poison head on. And it will hurt and it will be painful but you'll be stronger for it in the end."

The Doctor was right. Sasuke knew he needed to defeat this control Orochimaru had over him.

"Kakashi warned me. I knew there was something not right about the guy but all that was important was that he was a Sannin, he was powerful, and I wanted that. I met him during the genin exams and all I saw was this guy who had broken away from Konoha and grown unbelievably powerful. It led me to believe that maybe my problem was Konoha, maybe it was Konoha holding me back from my full potential. Then Naruto defeated Gaara and… I lost it. I had been working all my life and yet the dead last had caught up to me. I wasn't making any progress. I felt stuck in place and that the only way out was out of Konoha."

It was odd to look back on these memories now. He said, as if just realizing it himself, "In reality, I had been the one holding myself back. Comparing myself to Naruto had been unfair. He was a natural, just badly trained and abilities often misunderstood because of the Kyuubi. Once those basics were corrected, he was naturally my equal. But I resented him for it and that resentment made it easier for me to let him go. Once I let Naruto go, it was so easy to let the rest of Konoha go. Konoha have never meant anything to me other than a mass grave of dead bones."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulder. "Then there was the Valley of the End. I followed Orochimaru. I didn't know the truth about Itachi. If I had known…" Then Sasuke's voice fell into a strangled high-pitch. "But do you know who the fuck knew about Itachi?! _Orochimaru._ The entire fucking time! He could have told me the truth. He could have…" Sasuke breathed heavily. The thought had just occurred to him. He didn't have evidence that Orochimaru knew about Itachi's involvement but how could he not? He kept the medicine a secret from Juugo for years but he was too stupid and egotistical to believe Orochimaru would do the same to him. Oh kami, he couldn't breathe.

"Let's take a break," Dr. Yamanaka said at the sign of distress across Sasuke's face. "I'll make some tea."

Sasuke tensed when the doctor got up from his chair and used a jutsu to boil water in a teapot. When Dr. Yamanaka sat down with the tea, Sasuke mumbled, "I don't want to do this anymore."

"This is going to be hard Sasuke but if you give up now, you're letting him win."

"Then maybe he wins," Sasuke snapped. "Maybe I can't defeat him. I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," the Doctor said confidently. "Do you know why? Because you came this morning. Because you opened your eyes and got dressed this morning. Because you're not dead yet. Orochimaru has not defeated you yet. Let's wrap-up early today. Tomorrow we'll try to talk about your tutelage under Orochimaru. This way you'll have time to prepare yourself and know what you're going to say."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, alright."

He felt so exhausted.

* * *

Sakura was surprised when she walked into the house to the smell of fresh barbecue. She kicked off her heels and peeked around the corner to the sight of Sasuke lying on the couch listening to the radio.

"I bought dinner," Sasuke grumbled when she entered the room. Sakura looked inside the bag, checked it for poison and then began making her a plate. Then the door slammed open. Sakura looked up with a horrified expression as two streaks of pink hair literally flipped over Sasuke and landed on the floor.

"Why aren't you at your grandmothers?" Sakura demanded and immediately grabbed the boys by the cuff of their collars.

"We smelled barbecue!" Both boys replied in unison.

"Mom?! Who is he? Are you cheating on dad? Is he a ninja? Can we play with him?" Sakura tossed them out the house and threw the barbecue bag out after them. They attacked it like two ravenous dogs and raced down the street with a rib and a chicken leg in each mouth respectively. Sakura slammed the door shut with a deep sigh. Damn the Inuzuka nose.

Sakura sat down nervously at her usual spot and picked at her plate of barbecue.

"Where's Kiba?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

"Dead."

Sasuke turned and tapped a finger against the couch, then he asked, "Where's the guy in the all the photos?"

"You don't have any right to start asking me personal questions," Sakura snapped. "It's not your business."

"Why the fuck did you name that kid Sasuke?"

"Last time I checked, you don't have ownership over that name. Besides, didn't a Sarutobi first claim Sasuke anyways. It started with an 'S'. It paired nicely with Sai. I had just popped two kids out of my vagina. Sasuke seemed like a damn perfectly fine name to me."

Sasuke didn't ask any more questions.

* * *

Sakura walked downstairs the next morning to find that Sasuke had already prepared her a cup of coffee. Sakura looked down at it quizzically, picked it up, and settled back into her favorite armchair. This time, instead of curled on the couch like a dejected puppy, Sasuke was hunched over his own mug of coffee. Silently, they enjoyed a mutual appreciation of coffee beans.

"Why?" Sakura finally asked. "Why the barbecue? Why the coffee?"

"I don't like freeloading," Sasuke answered bitterly. It scraped against his shoulders as if he owed some kind of debt. Although not having an income didn't bother him as much when he was living with Tomu. But Tomu was family. That was different. The clan mentality dictated that it was Tomu's responsibility to financially take care of him.

"You know, if you just man up and fucking apologize to Tomu you could probably go home."

Sasuke stared at Sakura perplexed. He had never considered anywhere his home since the day he left Konoha behind. But the thought of sleeping in his own bed, eating dinner with Tomu, residing in the same space pulled at him. "I doubt it's that easy."

"I didn't say you wouldn't have to drop to your knees and beg your way back, Sasuke-kun."

The coffee mug slammed unfinished onto the coffee table.

"Sakura," Sasuke said her name with a sudden edge that immediately had Sakura tense in wariness. She watched as Sasuke's shoulders withdrew a shaky breath.

"Orochimaru calls me that." Then Sasuke lifted from the table and walked out the door, leaving behind Sakura wide eyed and loose jaw.

She never knew.

* * *

Sasuke wrung his hands. He's been up all night tossing and turning, preparing the words he was going to say. He sighed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Sasuke started slow, as if he could control the rhythm of his words he could control the memories that dredged through him. "The entire time I trained with Orochimaru I thought I was in control of the situation, that I was outsmarting him at every turn when in actuality it was the other way around. I was attracted to his thirst for knowledge and all the jutsu he had gathered and theories he had tested. For once, I thought I found someone who understood me. But it was all a lie. He took advantage of my lust for power and I did things."

"What sort of things?"

Sasuke frowned. First he had to explain Orochimaru as if that made his own actions better. "Orochimaru's lust for immortality manifested itself into a lust for children. And he respected power. I was young. I had the sharingan. You can do the math."

"So he raped you?" Dr. Yamanaka asked.

"No. It was my choice. I wasn't a sex slave or delusional like Karin. He did not force me. It was small things at first. Small touches during sparring practice that didn't have to do anything with the fight – my hand, my arm, my leg as if testing what I would put up with. But I was training and learning new jutsu and honestly didn't notice until the touching became… inappropriate."

"The back of his hand would slide against my crotch until one day during practice he began to fondle me. I didn't stop him. I knew it wasn't right. But it was the first time anyone but my own hand touched me and… it was pleasurable. The next day he made it clear what he wanted and stopped training me until he got what he wanted. The fact he stopped training made me angry and I refused until I realized I was standing still again. I had to move forward. There was no going back anymore."

"No going back," Sasuke repeated hauntingly. "I went to his room and saw… he and Kabuto were fucking and even though I'm not stupid it was the first time I truly realized the mechanics of what he wanted from me. I sucked his dick that night. He resumed training. Then he stopped again. He put his dick in me. The first time we had sex it hurt but it got easier. Soon it became the norm that he wouldn't start training until he expended himself. Sometimes he would fuck me all day, on those days he would teach me a new forbidden jutsu and make it worth it. I'd do anything for power and he knew it. The worst part was that he would demand that I activate my sharingan every time. I remember the taste of his cum. I remember how his tongue would curl down my throat. I remember the way he shakes in orgasm." Sasuke's voice took on a tinge of anger. "I remember fucking Orochimaru with more clarity than I remember my own childhood in Konoha."

Sasuke breathed and continued.

"After a year, I gave in. The first year it was about power. The second year it had changed. I began begging for him. I began coming to him. He was the first person to make me feel good in a long time. It helped to forget about the massacre and Itachi.

And it wasn't just sex he demanded. I performed experiments and drugged prisoners for him. I killed. I killed a lot. I wiped out entire villages at the age of fourteen that no one will ever know about. He told me stories about Konoha. How Konoha killed his own parents. He taught me his hatred, fueled my own, and gave me the means to burn the world with it.

Then he began to grow ill. It was then that I realized I hadn't learned a new jutsu in months. I began to question everything. I was at another standstill. It was time to move on. And I knew that the only way forward was to kill Orochimaru."

Sasuke paused and swallowed into his dry throat. "In the end, those two years with Orochimaru didn't make me powerful enough to kill Itachi. Itachi was sick and weak all on his own. Itachi wanted me to kill him. Those two years, and everything I had to do," Sasuke shook his head. "They meant nothing. Orochimaru manipulated me and I was too stupid and self-absorbed to realize it. He took advantage of me and twisted me into a monster."

Sasuke didn't think he could ever bring himself to say these things to Naruto, or Sakura, or Tomu. But he realized he had to fight through the shame, and pain, and pride, in order to say them to himself and come to terms with the fact that his entire tutelage underneath Orochimaru was a complex manipulation for the man's own goals and desires.

Dr. Yamanaka took in all of the information he had just been bombarded with. Then Dr. Yamanaka leaned forward and asked softly, "Why are you chasing Orochimaru?"

"Because he hurt me," Sasuke whispered hoarsely. "Because I'm afraid that I'll never be free of him." His hands were clenched so hard his nails were digging bleeding into his hand.

Dr. Yamanaka said gently, "You have been victimized. You are not at fault for what Orochimaru did to you. He is a despicable man who took advantage of a young boy already suffering from a deep emotional trauma. It's not easy to heal from something like this. It will be a long process and I do believe you can be free of him. But you've got to be the one to let go. If you were to find Orochimaru right now and kill him, the scars he's inflicted on you will still be there."

The doctor leaned forward. "In our second session you had once told me that you no longer wanted to be defined by your anger. You told me that it had been difficult to stifle your anger after Itachi died. Your anger doesn't come from just Itachi's death, it was the pointlessness, the meaningless of it all that had brought you to that point. It was everything you had to sacrifice, everything Orochimaru put you through, that left you raw and vulnerable to that fire inside of you."

"To free yourself, you've got to first let go of your anger."

For years his anger had been a shield and even though it hurt everyone around him it kept him safe, it kept him from no longer getting hurt or betrayed by anyone else. Sasuke shook his head helplessly, "I am nothing without my anger."

"Don't you see? Your anger is the poison."

Sasuke's eyes went wide and his body began to tremble. Anger had been burning bright in him for so long, once it was doused it allowed a host of other emotions he didn't want to attack him: grief, shame, heartbreak, bitterness, sadness, disgust, depression. All these emotions hit him all at once and had him trembling in tears on the floor. Those emotions spread through his body like the bittersweet taste of an antidote.

Healing was a process.

* * *

Sasuke hadn't gone straight back to Sakura's place after his appointment. He walked around Konoha for a while, continually circling closer to the Uzumaki compound but never coming close enough. He felt lighter somehow, as if something had been knocked loose in his chest. He rubbed his eyes and pushed open Sakura's unlocked door.

She usually left her door unlock in case the kids came by. Even civilians knew who she was and wouldn't dare break into her house and steal from her. Sasuke paused at the immediate smell of food coming from the kitchen. He took off his shoes and placed them neatly on the shelf, a far cry from where Sakura's heels were flung in the doorway.

Sakura was in the kitchen cooking dinner. It smelled like miso, fish, and vegetable soup. He noticed that the living room was far messier than he had left it this morning and realized Sakura might not have even left for work.

Sasuke sat down on the couch. He wasn't used to such a silent living room. He was used to Tomu immediately coming in from work and popping in one of Killer Bee's cassettes. Sasuke leaned forward and studied Sakura's radio. One the table with the radio, were photos of her, the twins, and the unknown man Sasuke had inquired about before.

Sasuke pressed a button and jolted when static came out the speakers. He grumbled in annoyed frustration as he attempted to get the stupid thing to work. This really shouldn't be that hard.

"You turn the dial," Sakura chuckled and showed him how to turn the dial until it picked up a signal. "You should have seen Naruto when Tomu got one of these for him for his birthday. Broke it in ten seconds." Finally a hint of music began to play. It was a medley of traditional Japanese instruments that calmly filled the room. "I didn't think the great Sasuke Uchiha liked music. I didn't think he liked anything."

"Hn," Sasuke replied. It was growing on him. He returned to the couch, closed his eyes, and allowed the music to wash over him. In his mind's eye, Sasuke could see Tomu pulling Mushi off the couch and rocking her into a slow dance. He was always annoyed with it because it always ended up with them having sex but for several minutes their bodies would get lost in the music and each other and the world couldn't touch them. Sasuke had never known music had such a power.

Sasuke opened his eyes when Sakura placed a tray of dinner down on the coffee table. Instead of sitting in the armchair, she tucked her legs under the coffee table and began to blow the steam off the soup.

"Join me." It was hard to misconstrue it for anything less than a command. As a guest in her house, Sasuke pulled himself off the couch, sat down on the carpet and faced the tray of food. He wondered why they weren't eating at the kitchen table like normal people. He hoped not too much drama would come out of what he had said this morning but he couldn't stand that unbearable nickname any longer.

Sakura studied Sasuke as he was beginning to eat. The more she watched, the more it occurred to her how much she didn't know this man. He wasn't the same boy who had left Konoha all those years ago, and even then, Sakura could barely boast she knew him all that well back then either.

Someone was going to have to break the silence. Sakura finished picking through the bones of her fish with her chopsticks. "So, when are you finally going to get off of my couch?"

Sasuke frowned. It's not as if he wanted to stay here. But it was either this or the streets. Sasuke knew he had often punished her with his silence many times before but he didn't have an answer.

"You know, Naruto and I chased the ends of the world for you. Naruto even further. Because that's how far we were willing to go for someone we thought was a friend. We thought you were worth it. If you care about Tomu, you'd go to the ends and back. You don't give up on family. Seriously, Sasuke, he's the only good thing you have left."

Sasuke shuffled his chopsticks around. "And you?"

"I matter? It's not like you tried to see me when you were forced back to Konoha. It's not as if I'm literally the last person who you would ever go to for help when you've fucked up. I never mattered to you. I was never worthy of your attention. Only Naruto was your equal and because of it, you gave him more respect than you ever did to me," Sakura continued bitterly. "I was a part of Team Seven too. I've healed you, I've fought beside you, I ran after you, I tried to stop you, I tried to kill you, I hated you, I loved you, I-" Sakura paused to suck in a breath because she still had a lot more to say.

"Sakura," Sasuke said against the flurry of emotions that poured from the hurt in her green eyes – the same hurts that kept Naruto from even looking at him. "I'm sorry."

Sakura stared at Sasuke. Years. So many years. Too many years, because even though her anger was still there, it had almost fossilized in her chest. It didn't matter if Sasuke ever said the words or not because she's already moved on.

"I forgave you a long time ago."

* * *

He missed Tomu.

There. He finally admitted it. Even admitted it to his therapist. He couldn't live like this anymore. Sakura's couch was comfortable but it wasn't where he wanted to be. Sakura in the end was right, Tomu was the only good thing he had left. He couldn't afford to fuck this up. Sasuke didn't exactly know how to get back into Tomu's good graces but he knew where to start.

Sasuke found himself annoyed when he went by the hospital and found that Hohei had already been checked out and was now residing in the Hyuuga residence. The Hyuuga compound was the last place he wanted to go but he's done a lot of things he didn't want to do in his lifetime.

"I would like to speak with Hyuuga Hohei," Sasuke attempted when he approached the gate.

"Permission denied," both guards said in unison. Even their apparent dislike was in unison.

"I would like to speak with him on behalf of Uzumaki Tomu."

"Permission denied."

Sasuke clenched his jaw in an attempt to get control of his rising anger, he managed in so far as to not punch each one in the face but he couldn't help the way he snapped, "I'm here to fucking apologize."

"Permission granted."

Sasuke blinked in surprise when the guards stepped back and opened the gates. Like the last time he had gained entrance into the compound, a child led him into an empty tea room. He was under no illusions. He knew they were watching him closely. Hohei eventually entered with a crutch and bandaged around each finger. There was a bruise the color of gangrene along his jaw. Hohei's injuries didn't keep him from eyeing Sasuke with a familiar smug look.

_At least a Hyuuga knows their blindspot._

"You knew," Sasuke suddenly seethed in understanding. Hohei knew Tomu wasn't going to take too well to his beating. And now Sasuke was here needing the Hyuuga's help to get back into Tomu's good graces. Sasuke refused to admit that the Hyuuga might have won this round.

"I'll tell Tomu you apologized, even begged on your knees, with two conditions," Hohei said outright.

"You think you've outsmarted me, you little shit." Sasuke was trying to keep a handle on his anger but it was hard when he wanted nothing more than to chidori the kid's face in.

"After I heal, it is very likely that Konoha will assign me to you again because I'm the one you didn't kill. First condition, let me do my job. Someone is going to have to watch you. I report your activities to Konoha and you don't beat me up again. Simple."

Sasuke crossed his arms. It wasn't as if it was an unreasonable request. But he hated having someone over his shoulder. "Deal. What's the other condition?"

Hohei's voice was straight deadpanned as he said, "Suck my dick. And when I cum you have to say Hyuuga-sama."

"That's just petty."

"You broke my glasses."

The Uchiha and Hyuuga stared at each other.

Sasuke stood up and stepped over the small tea table. Hohei was forced to catch himself as Sasuke crouched on top of him and yanked his hips forward by the belt of his yukata. With a forceful tug, Sasuke pulled the belt from Hohei's waist. Sasuke watched as the cloth slackened to reveal the discolored bruises that decorated the rest of his body. Sasuke frowned at the sight of it.

Perhaps Tomu had been right. Perhaps he had gone too far.

"Unhenge yourself," Hohei whispered. "I want to see you."

Sasuke hesitated for a moment before he dropped the henge that had become as instinctual as slipping on your shoes before going outside. Sasuke reached between Hohei's leg and ran a hand up his broken limb. Then Sasuke balanced on his knees and bowed between the Hyuuga's legs.

Honestly, it always bothered Sasuke that the Hyuuga was both thicker and longer than him, not by much, but it was a visible reminder that maybe the Uchiha weren't always superior in every aspect. He wasn't stupid. He knew that as the branch members were often raped for the main member's pleasure, the main members were vigorously bred to produce the strongest doujutsu and isolate physical attributes considered beautiful among the Hyuuga. There was no denying that Hohei was a product of that careful breeding.

Sasuke found himself placing the cock reverently in his mouth. He closed his eyes and focused on that taste of it and on how each part of it felt to his tongue. Sasuke bobbed his head and heated his mouth with a minor fire jutsu that sent Hohei's cock arching deep into his mouth. Sasuke looked up and observed the red flush to Hohei's cheeks. Fuck, this kid was beautiful.

Sasuke sucked, twisting his tongue, wanting to taste the boy's flavor. He couldn't get the Hyuuga make a sound when he had tortured him with pain, but the Hyuuga finally broke when he climaxed deep in Sasuke's throat. Sasuke smirked, oddly pleased by the sound of Hohei's ragged moan. Sasuke swallowed and licked the Hyuuga clean. From the taste of his cum, it was obvious the kid had the healthiest diet of anyone's he sucked off. It was bearable.

Hohei gave Sasuke a glazed look. "You forgot my name."

"It was hard to say with cum in my mouth," Sasuke retorted.

"You can't say it can you?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied. He reached forward and pulled the content Hyuuga forward. In seconds, Hohei had lost that post-coital daze. Instead, his eyes tensed in wariness. Sasuke called him a kid but Hohei was taller, long and lithe. "I'm sorry for that night after the bar and everything that happened afterwards. I initiated it. I should not have. I was out of control. And Orochimaru… he… I just wanted…" Sasuke stopped talking because at this point he was beginning to sound stupid. He took a breath and waddled through his words. "The truth of the matter is, you were the one who helped me to retain what little sanity I had when Orochimaru was in Konoha." Sasuke looked Hohei straight in the face and said, "I'm attracted to you."

It took forever for Sasuke to figure this out. He knew he was attracted to Naruto. He knew he preferred to have sex with men because he was used to it with his prior experiences with Orochimaru. But to be physically attracted to someone other than Naruto caught him off-guard. Hohei was nothing like Naruto. It didn't make sense to Sasuke. It made him frustrated, and instead of slowly working this revelation out, it manifested in the worse way when Orochimaru arrived in the village.

Sasuke watched the surprise work its way across the Hyuuga's face. Sasuke timidly massaged his hand behind Hohei's neck and then gently pulled him forward. Sasuke caught Hohei's lips in his mouth and dwelled in the warmth of them. He could still taste the Jasmin tea on Hohei's tongue. But there was resistance to the kiss.

"Sasuke," Hohei managed to breathe when he escaped Sasuke's lips. "There is no such thing as a casual relationship with you. You're not ready and I'm not ready. Trust me, Uchiha, you're not emotionally prepared to go down this road. And I'm afraid if it happens too soon, I might not survive it."

Sasuke wasn't quite sure what he wanted from Hohei. Definitely to take care of this hard-on he was sporting right now, but beyond that, Sasuke didn't know.

Hohei bowed his head, unable to meet Sasuke's coal black eyes, so black it was as if any spark could light them on fire. "You could take me if that's what you want. I'm powerless to stop you. But… I would prefer a professional relationship with you." Hohei's pale eyes looked up at Sasuke, wary, tense, watching the muscles of Sasuke's arms in case they wanted to strike him. "I'm afraid of you."

Sasuke jolted back. It was true. He could see the wide depth of fear in the Hyuuga's eyes, watching how he would take the rejection. Sasuke released him and uncomfortably adjusted the boner in his pants. Sasuke picked himself up and needed to get out of here before he caused any more damage. Sasuke was trying to do better but he honestly couldn't promise the boy that he might never hurt him, or even kill him in the long-run. For Tomu's sake, it was probably best to let this flame go untouched.

"I can still rely on your help with Tomu?"

The Hyuuga nodded. His hands were shaking as he attempted to redress but his healing joints gave him limited movement. Sasuke gave an exasperated sigh. Snatched the sash from the ground and pulled it around Hohei's waist. He fixed the robes and smoothed them out until there were no more wrinkles. Finally, he tied the sash tight and closed the robes.

"Thank you," Hohei whispered.

"Hn."

* * *

Tomu groaned when he touched the door knob and swung open. He really didn't want any visitors after his long day of keeping the citizens of Konoha from attacking the first Mist-ninja they see. Tomu dragged his feet through his home. He noticed several things at once: the wreckage he didn't have time to clean up had been replaced with new furniture, both Sasuke and Hohei were in his kitchen, and there a the strong smell of ramen throughout the house.

"What is this?" Tomu demanded, suspiciously.

"Sasuke-san and I have come to an agreement of sorts," Hohei said as he began spreading the utensils out onto the table. "He came to the Hyuuga compound and apologized. We thought we should commemorate the occasion."

"Hohei, cut the bullshit. You shouldn't even want to talk to this guy after he-"

"It was a mission, Tomu. I knew what I was getting myself into," Hohei replied. "Sit down. Let's eat."

Tomu stared at the table where he and Mushi used to eat dinner, where he and Mushi used to fuck after eating dinner. Hohei looked up and outright, purposefully sat in Mushi's chair. Tomu winced. Sasuke watched the exchange and allowed Hohei to take the lead. This was his plan and Hohei assured him that this was going to work.

Sasuke picked up the large bowl of noodles and broth and placed it onto the table. Tomu crossed his arms.

"You can't bribe me with ramen." Then Tomu's stomach growled. "Fuck the both of you."

Tomu slammed down at the table. After his day, a hot bowl of steaming ramen was exactly what he needed right now.

"How is work?" Hohei asked. "I hear ANBU managed to finally stem the number of attacks."

"Work?" Sasuke questioned. "Why are you working? I thought ANBU granted leave for the death of a spouse or child."

"If you haven't heard, Naruto is out the village. All ANBU are reporting in." Tomu answered as he stabbed his chopsticks into his bowl. "Unless you are physically injured," Tomu looked at Hohei, then at Sasuke, "or mentally insane."

"You really shouldn't be working," Sasuke said.

"You of all people don't get to judge me." Tomu snapped and dropped his chopsticks. He was wrong. No amount of ramen was going to make this better.

Hohei nonchalantly reached over and turned on the radio. Instantly, the announcer's voice drowned out Tomu's frustration. "Yo, Four-dog here and do I have a treat for my listeners tonight. Killer Bee has just dropped a surprise single and I have the exclusive."

Tomu's head whipped around so fast you'd think someone knocked it off his neck. "Turn that up," Tomu demanded, staring wide-eyed at the radio. His anger at Sasuke was all but forgotten, for now. Hohei and Sasuke shared a look.

The beat dropped. It was a chill beat, very different from the fast head-banging beats Killer Bee usually rapped over.

With rhymes and a nimble flow Killer Bee described one of the many times he and his brother had a falling out: _Broke the window in your office, broke the bones in my jaw, broke a crack in our relationship, loved and hated you raw. Ran away from Kumo, ran away from you, ran away from all of things we used to love to do. I used to be so hard-headed. Now that you're gone, it's too late to say I'm sorry, so I'll write you a song._

Suddenly the chorus kicked in and Tomu's eyes widened at the deeper and smoother melodic voice. He knew that voice, and it wasn't Killer Bee.

_Sometimes I break things that can't be fixed. Sometimes I fix things only for them to break. But I keep trying if only for your sake. Sometimes I want you to find me but I stay lost. Sometimes I lose things that will never be found. Keep holding me down._

_I know I'm fucked up._

_Sometimes I hurt you. Sometimes the pain keeps me sane. Sometimes the pain drives me insane. I'm running away but there's no distance to gain. Sometimes you're the only one I see. Sometimes I only see memories. Don't give up on me._

_I know I'm fucked up._

After the chorus, Tomu didn't hear the rest of the song. He simply stared opened mouth in Sasuke's direction who was fiddling with his chopsticks. The song ended, the radio announcer said something, but all Tomu could do was stare. Finally Tomu cleared his throat and said, "Hn."

"Evidently Uchiha's are good at everything," Sasuke shrugged, as if the fact he featured on a song with Killer Bee was no big deal.

Hohei scoffed.

Sasuke combed his fingers through his hair and looked up to face Tomu. "I'm sorry. I'm done chasing Orochimaru. I'm done with revenge. I can't promise that I won't hurt anyone else. All I can promise is that I'm trying."

Tomu let out a deep breath. "Yeah, alright."

They sat and ate ramen for dinner.

* * *

**x**

* * *

**Even if you kill the snake, you're still poisoned.**

* * *

 


	12. A Change of Leaves

Ame Uzumaki gave that mischievous grin, an effortless mimicry of her father, and Mizuka Houzuki knew she was in trouble. Mizuka backed up against the dresser under Ame's predatory stare. Her hand knocked against a collection of wooden figurines that tumbled to the floor. Ame leaned forward and placed both hands on the dresser, trapping Mizuka in her snare.

Mizuka watched the moisture along Ame's lips in morbid fascination as Ame licked them and said, "Do you like my room? I could show you the bed."

It was as if Mizuka had been hit with a lightning jutsu. Her brain stopped, as if the ability to process what was going on was suddenly too overwhelming. What was happening? Was this really Ame Uzumaki? Was Ame Uzumaki into girls?!

The only thing she could focus on, the only thing she knew for a fact was the moisture of Ame's lips as they drew closer. Ame stopped a breath from her mouth, then dipped down and sucked in the skin of Mizuka's neck. All at the same time, Ame's hand trespassed underneath Mizuka's shirt.

Mizuka suddenly found herself wet in too many places. In a mixture of excitement and embarrassment, she burst in a splash of water all over the dresser.

Ame threw her head back with laughter.

After several seconds of Ame's persistent laugh, Mizuka finally found the confidence to reform herself outside of Ame's reach. Mizuka snatched down her shirt and glared at Ame in a boiling rage. She couldn't believe she had fallen for that. Her years at the Academy was subjected to Ame's persistent attempts to make her "splash." But since her graduation her chakra control has improved considerably and haven't had an accident in a long time.

"I am not here for your amusement," Mizuka spat.

Ame's laughter stopped at the heat in Mizuka's voice. Mizuka spun around and slammed open the door to get away and out of this compound as fast as possible. This was all just another elaborate prank. When Ame had invited her over for a spar, Mizuka couldn't say no. Who wouldn't want to see another compound's sparring fields? Spar turned into dinner. Dinner turned into Ame "showing" Mizuka her "shuriken" collection in her room. Of course, Mizuka hadn't been aware of the double quotation marks at the time.

"Wait," Ame said from behind her.

Mizuka stumbled to a stop when Ame appeared at the main gate using that stupid hiraishin jutsu of hers. Mizuka locked her hands together in a seal and prepared to escape into the humidity in the air. Thankfully, it was a humid night.

"I'm sorry," Ame said immediately. "Please don't leave."

"You didn't invite me over for a spar," Mizuka accused. "You are the worst. People like you are the reason why I hate Konoha."

Ever since she graduated, Mizuka has taken on mission after mission. Konoha had never really felt like home. But with the situation going on she's been stuck in Konoha for the past several weeks, apparently enough time for Ame to track her down and corner her.

Ame's eyes grew wide and her cocky swagger suddenly broke down into awkward insecurity. "We're always on different teams," Ame told her. "And you're always out of the village. I just wanted to show you how much I like you."

"What?" Mizuka asked. Somehow thinking that this was all an elaborate prank was easier to believe.

Ame combed her fingers through the side of her hair that wasn't braided back. "I like you like you, ever since the Academy. Be my girlfriend."

Mizuka's face heated with a blush that began to boil on her cheeks. This was a lot to take in at once. She didn't even know if she liked girls!

"You know that Houzuki can't kiss?" Mizuka asked, picking the first excuse she could find.

"I know," Ame said. Because of their sharp teeth, the former mist clans didn't kiss unless they risk biting out their partner's tongue.

"My family wouldn't approve," Mizuka lied. The Houzuki were the most liberal of all the former mist clans. A clan known for its insanity tended not to judge.

"Excuses," Ame chirped. It took only a moment for Ame to regain that confidence only the daughter of a Kage could have. Ame stepped forward careful at first but when Mizuka didn't run away like a startled fish, Ame hopped further forward with excited exuberance. "I was really hoping tonight would go smoother but you have to admit it was great until… you know, that is still funny as fuck."

Mizuka shook her head as she attempted to walk away, until Ame caught her by the wrist and swiveled her around. Mizuka's eyes snapped open to Ame closed ones and swallowed when Ame pressed a closed-mouth kiss against her lips. Ame drew back with a smile. "You don't have to answer me yet but let me walk you home."

"I don't need you to walk me home," Mizuka claimed. Besides she wanted the walk to get her thoughts out of the whirlpool Ame had created.

"There are still people harassing your family. It's late and no matter how intelligent, beautiful, and deadly you are we are stronger together. I'm taking you home."

Mizuka bowed her head in embarrassment when Ame reached out and boldly grabbed Mizuka's hand. Mizuka could have pulled away, could have melted her hand through Ame's fingers but she didn't. Instead she attempted to process the thought that Uzumaki Ame, the kunoichi referred to as the Fox Princess of Konoha, heir to the Demon Fox, liked her. Ever since the Academy apparently.

A part of her had to admit that Ame's pranks had been the most interesting part of the Academy. Mizuka had just wanted to be invisible and had hated Ame for refusing her to do so. Now she didn't know what to think.

Ame tensed. Mizuka did the same and realized there had been four sweaty bodies following behind them. Mizuka reached for the kunai in her pockets, but Ame caught her hand and tightened it, not to hurt but in warning. Ame turned on her heels and crossed her arms.

It had been Mizuka's experience that most ninja go through life carefully. Life had no security and it was best to be observant and distrusting. That wasn't Ame.

Ame leaned on her hip with an arrogance and swagger Mizuka imagined only possible from someone who could rely on a Kage to protect her. Ame's arms were crossed in a manner that did not allow easy access to a weapon, as if to say she didn't need it.

"What do you want?" Ame demanded.

"Uzumaki-san?" They exclaimed in surprise, and then spat vehemently, "First, you attempt to assassinate the Hokage and now you're trying to kidnap the Kage's daughter?"

Ame threw back her head and laughed. Mizuka wished she could afford to find humor at the absurdity of the situation but all she found was caution. She determined at least two of the drunks were chuunin and even though she's had worse odds on missions before, it was going to be a bloody encounter. Mizuka pressed her hands together to summon a mist.

Ame turned and locked Mizuka frozen with a shake of the head. Ame rocked forward on her foot and said, "As you can see I am perfectly fine, in fact..."

There was a small shift in the air. Mizuka noticed only because it displaced the water particles clinging to tonight's humidity. Ame didn't flinch. The drunken ninja stumbled. Mizuka rolled her eyes with a scowl. Of course daddy came to save his little girl.

Naruto Uzumaki crossed his arms and gave the ninja before him a scrutinizing glare. "Hokage-sama, the mist ninja is trying to kidnap your daughter!"

The Hokage gave the ninja a patronizing look. "You mean the _leaf_ ninja who is my daughter's girlfriend is trying to kidnap her?"

Their eyes bulged almost comically, but none was more shock by the declaration than Mizuka. She was not dating the Kage's daughter!

"I appreciate your initiative but protocol dictates you report to an ANBU if you suspect suspicious activity. Accidents can happen when citizens who are not aware of the full situation get involved. Investigating the assassination attempt is under the ANBU's jurisdiction. Let them handle it. Because it would be regrettable if you made such a mistake as attacking my daughter's girlfriend." Mizuka gulped at the sudden weight of the killing intent that choked the air.

"We are so sorry." On hands and knees, they all bowed several times and rededicated their lives and their children's lives and their children's children's lives to the Hokage. They wished him good health and a long reign. They promised to name their children after him. Mizuka cringed at the way they worshiped the man's feet. It was a level of respect her family would never be afforded in this village.

"Go home," The Hokage told them as gently as speaking to his own children.

"Yes, sir."

Mizuka watched as they scurried home, still bowing at they went. Then the Hokage turned around, sent Mizuka a wink, and faded like mist along a breeze. It took several seconds and one glimpse at Ame's foxish smile to realize it had all been an elaborate genjutsu. She had been ensnared the moment Ame turned to her and shook her head, the drunk ninja even minutes before. No wonder the kunoichi had been so cocky.

Then Mizuka declared hotly, "I am not your girlfriend!"

"I couldn't help myself." Ame laughed, caught Mizuka's hand again, and tugged her down the road. Ame looked back at Mizuka with a thoughtful stare. "Don't be too hard on them. They were drunk. They care so much and do stupid things because they love my dad."

"The ANBU have the Momochi clan completely locked down and yet we still get mistaken for them."

"You both do have sharp teeth."

Mizuka snatched her hand from Ame's grip so fast she splashed droplets of herself on the ground. "We're paler than the Momochi clan. We dehydrate faster in the sun. We all have white hair!"

Mizuka boiled when Ame placed a hand on her shoulder. Ame didn't flinch at the heat and told her with a smile. "I know. My dad once told me that you can't control another's person's ignorance. Only your own."

Mizuka snorted and dropped down on the swingset at the center of the park. "Konoha doesn't change."

"It just takes a little bit of time," Ame said as she sat down on the swingset next to Mizuka. "And a few brave enough to do something about it." Ame leaned against the chain and then her lips widened in excitement. "If you really want change, you should be the next Hokage."

Mizuka laughed shrilly at that. "Konoha will never have a mist ninja as Hokage."

"How will Konoha ever change if you don't?" Ame reached out and knocked on the hitai-ite against Mizuka's forehead. "You're a leaf ninja."

The idea was preposterous. The last time a Houzuki was a Kage, it was a disaster and led to the end of Kirigakure. But for some reason, the idea kept wiggling through her thoughts and refused to give her peace. Mizuka would have to be crazy to pursue this.

But if the Uzumaki were characterized as unpredictable then the Houzuki were literally batshit insane.

And why not? Fuck it! Mizuka Houzuki wanted to be Hokage.

Mizuka lifted her head triumphantly. For several seconds she laughed maniacally before she grabbed at Ame's shirt and pulled the red-haired kunoichi forward. In her haste, Mizuka teeth cut Ame's lip and blood dripped between their kiss. They pushed back to breathe, eyes alit with fire.

The Houzuki smiled. The Uzumaki grinned. And the world trembled in fear.

* * *

ANBU Fox was patrolling the Kage's Tower when the report came in over the radio, "Seals have alerted us to two unidentified persons exiting Konoha through the sewage pipe."

Fox radioed the nearest ANBU in that vicinity, "Raccoon, Lynx, pursue. Detain these individuals at all cost, use of deadly force only if absolutely necessary."

Fox was already running across the rooftops to rendezvous with the ANBU team outside of the gates. He mentally checked which hiraishin kunai was closer to that portion of the gate, then shuffled through his pocket, and within a blink teleported to the middle of Iruka's living room. As Fox crashed through the window, Iruka shouted from behind him, "That's the third one this month!"

Fox pushed up from the fire-escape and never stopped his momentum as he vaulted over a chimney and jumped toward the gate. There were seals in its walls that not only repelled chakra attacks but refused anyone's attempt to stick to the surface with chakra. Fox barely caught the edge of the gate and lifted himself over the top. Without pause he jumped off the other side and landed without so much as a noise.

There were three dead bodies.

"What the fuck happened?" Fox demanded of the ANBU left standing, who clutched at a bloody left arm. The wound didn't seem urgent enough to require immediate assistance.

"They wouldn't listen. They tried to run. When we tried to restrain them with a jutsu they attacked. Their jutsu killed ANBU Lynx. I countered. Deadly force was absolutely necessary," the ANBU replied with all the emotion of a block of wood even though his partner was lying face-dead in sewer run-off.

Fox frowned when he flipped over the bodies and met the unmistakable faces of two members of the Momochi clan. He knew what the Captain would order him to do. "You are to submit a detailed report of what happened in the next few hours. But for right now, help me dispose of the bodies."

Tomu's mouth tasted of ash when he turned the doorknob of his apartment. Tomu knew that word of the deaths could not reach the Momochi clan at risk of mutiny. There was no choice but to dispose of the incident quietly even though Tomu's conscious refused to be quiet about it.

As he entered the apartment, he found Sasuke on the couch reading a book but the radio was droning on in the background. The soft chords of the biwa greeted Tomu as he walked inside and headed straight to the bathroom.

The water rinsed red. Some of the blood had gotten matted in his hair. It began to crust underneath his fingernails. The Momochi clan might never find out the truth. They might believe that their family members made it out safely. They'll never know. The guilt overwhelmed Tomu, tied too closely to the lingering pain he still suffered from his own recent loss. Tomu broke into sobs in the shower.

He didn't pull himself from the bathroom until an hour later. Exhausted.

"You really shouldn't be working."

Tomu cringed. He had been hoping that the shower ran loud enough to prevent Sasuke from hearing. Tomu mumbled, "It keeps me busy."

"You're running away."

"Yeah, like you're a fucking expert on how to handle grief," Tomu spat. "You ran away. I'm still here. I'm still doing my job."

The tension in the room was suddenly so heavy, the weight was palpable. Tomu surrendered first as he stormed toward his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. Sasuke watched as the pictures on the wall shook with the force of it. One fell and cracked.

"I'm not Naruto," Sasuke grumbled. He couldn't say the right words. Even though Tomu had allowed Sasuke to move back in there was still a wall between them that even forgiveness couldn't batter down.

Sasuke bookmarked his page and reached around the couch. He picked up the picture frame, brushed the broken glass into the trashcan, and attempted to hang it back on the wall. The missing pieces made it seem as if a jagged line had ripped between Mushi and Tomu in the picture.

He knew what Tomu was going through, more than anyone he knew. But he didn't know how to help. Even just a few words had sent the kid running away. With a defeated sigh, Sasuke turned off the lights and retired to his bedroom.

Sasuke was tucked into bed when the slight noise of the door snapped him awake. The covers lifted and the warmth of another body hit him. Sasuke's memories flashed to when he was a child, crawling into Itachi's bed after a nightmare.

Sasuke gave a non-committal grunt, rolled over in bed, and went back to sleep.

* * *

The second time Sasuke woke up that night, he was woken by a sharp kick to the butt. A first in his entire life and Sasuke had grabbed the hilt of a kunai underneath his pillow.

"The fuck, man, move over," Tomu voice suddenly complained from the edge of the bed where Sasuke had slowly pushed him over the course of the night. At Tomu's voice, Sasuke slackened his hold on the kunai but was still undecided whether or not he was going to use it. Woken up out the middle of his sleep and there was no one trying to kill him, he was extremely grumpy.

Sasuke kicked back, hard. Too hard Sasuke realized after he heard a thud and a groan. With a grumble, Sasuke turned and leaned over the edge of the bed to make sure the stupid kid didn't have a concussion or something.

"You can't hog everything," Tomu threw a pillow straight into Sasuke's face. Sasuke was not amused.

"It's my bed."

"Dude, I pay the bills. And it's a fucking king-sized bed."

Tomu grabbed the bottom of the bed frame and with a little chakra, easily began to lift the bed into the air. Sasuke grabbed at the sheets as the bed began to lift underneath him. His kunai rattled to the floor. Sasuke landed awkwardly, the mattress fallen atop him to trap him in the corner. With a fury, Sasuke kicked off the bed and it fell back with a plomb, to the point where the bed frame cracked in the middle.

Both men, tousled hair from sleep gave each other glares that could level a village. Exhausted, they climbed back into bed. The center was cracked so badly that both men slid inwards until their backs collided against one another.

"You are the worst," Tomu grumbled.

Sasuke grunted.

They were so close that Sasuke felt warmth emanating from the shoulder where Tomu's ANBU tattoo was located. Tomu was being summoned. Tomu grumbled, crawled out of bed, and dragged his feet out the door.

The room suddenly felt colder than it had been before.

* * *

Captain Tiger knew that the tension between former mist ninja and the ninja of Konoha would not be resolved until someone took responsibility for the assassination attempt. To find the orchestrator behind the attack Captain Tiger pulled together a team of ANBU from different divisions inside Konoha.

"Let's review what we know so far," Captain Tiger instructed to make sure every individual was on the same page. He motioned to ANBU Squid.

ANBu Squid stood up and Fox recognized this ANBU as one of the liaison to the Mist clans. "The man who attacked the Hokage is named Jin Momochi. He's an old war veteran and has suffered mental and psychological issues since the Second Shinobi War. For the past five years, he has been a problematic member of the Momochi clan. He is a known drug addict. He's started several fight in bars all throughout Konoha although the Momochi clan has always bailed him out of jail. Two years ago, he drunkenly attacked his nephew, of which the clan kept quiet. In summary, he was a very unstable individual. Whether or not the Momochi clan is behind the attack is debatable. We all have one of those 'uncles' in the family."

Fox could sympathize. He knew personally what it was like to take responsibility for family members always fucking up. Fox wondered if Jin Momochi could have possibly acted alone but that idea was quickly replaced by the next speaker.

ANBU Vulture stood up. "ANBU Vulture, reporting from the coroner's unit. We were unfortunately unable to glean any useful information as most of his memories were drug addled. Besides the drugs, this man was mentally ill who thoughts revolved around his experiences of the war. From his corpse, there is no way to determine his motivations or if he was working with anyone else."

It all seemed too coincidental for Fox. The only time the coroner's unit was useless in a case was if there was no body to begin with. Either it was idiotic luck on the assassin's part or someone who intimately knew how the coroner's unit worked was exploiting the system.

As he listened, Fox flipped through the folder given to everyone in the meeting. He shuffled through images of the body and the crime scene to the toxicology reports. His eyebrows drew up and the sheer amount of drugs they found in the guy's system. It was far beyond the legal level issued by the government. He scanned the chemical compounds. The base of it was poppy but it had been altered in some way.

ANBU Panther stood up. "My team has, to the best of our ability, recreated Jin Momochi's tentative schedule for the two months leading up to the assassination."

Fox flipped to the next page to scan the schedule built upon sightings and practically interrogating everyone in Konoha. He'd imagine if pedestrians had seen the man within the last two months, most would volunteer the information. They even had the days the man had gone grocery shopping. As Fox expected, Jin Momochi had spent quite a lot of time at a drug den.

When everyone had given their report, the Captain addressed the room. "This is not enough. At this current time motivation or the how is not important. Even if this was an isolated incident our primary objective is to definitely prove that the Momochi Clan was not involved. People in the streets are demanding blood. Last night, two members of the Momochi Clan attempted to run. Our ANBU tried to detain them and it ended in a fight with both members of the Momochi clan slain. Currently the Momochi clan and the public is unaware of the incident. If this continues, things will get ugly in Konoha."

"That's proof enough right there," ANBU Vulture reasoned. "Why else would they try to run if they are not responsible?"

"Probably because ANBU currently have them barricaded in their own compound," ANBU Squid retorted. "What everyone in the room needs to understand is that the Momochi are not the same as the Houzuki Clan. When Zabuza Momochi rebelled against Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, in retribution Yagura went into the Momochi clan and slaughtered all of the children. There's an entire generation of Momochi missing. Because of this scar that the Mizukage has inflicted on them, they are deeply afraid that it might happen again. This is the clan where Sandayuu Momochi drew the line when the Mizukage dropped that bomb on non-combatants during the Fourth Shinobi War. Having an ANBU barricade around their compound, is _scaring_ them. So yeah, they are going to do stupid shit."

"We cannot afford to lower the barricade until we have proof that they didn't do it. This is for their safety as well as for Konoha."

"Perhaps," ANBU Vulture ventured to say, "we give the people what they want if it prevents tearing Konoha apart. We can falsify evidence and definitely blame the Clan Head. With someone to take responsibility, Konoha will be pacified."

ANBU Squid stood up so fast from his seat, the chair knocked over. "You charge the Momochi Clan Head with a crime he didn't commit, and they'll be running towards Ame. Maybe they won't make it but they'll kill anyone who gets in their way."

"Judging from the information we have gathered, there isn't a way to prove that the Momochi clan did or didn't order the attack. Perhaps we have no choice but to choose a scapegoat."

"Or maybe this is the point," Fox spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. "What if someone manipulated Jin Momochi to attack the Hokage in order to incite a rift between Konoha and the former Mist clans? Think about it. If I really wanted to assassinate the Hokage, I certainly wouldn't get a drug addled junkie to do it. It obviously wasn't going to work. There's a hidden agenda here."

"Are you suggesting that we have a foreign unknown in Konoha engaged in sabotage?"

"Perhaps," Fox said slowly. "But past cases have proven that when there is a body left to examine, foreign spies are always caught and identified. They don't know enough about the Yamanaka clan to realize that Yamanaka's techniques rely on memories and that memories can be severely addled and altered. Yes, genjutsu had been used before but using that method lets us know that someone has been tampering. Choosing a junkie, it is a genius way of outsmarting the coroner's unit."

"You're reaching," ANBU Panther said frankly.

"No, this isn't some foreign spy wreaking havoc, this is someone who has lived for years in Konoha and knows how the system works. They know how a Yamanaka work. They know the politics between Konoha and the former Mist clans. This is a conspiracy."

Captain Tiger pinned Fox with a challenging gaze. "Prove it."

It was easier said than done.

* * *

Sasuke's hair tickled Tomu's ear, who had unexpectedly leaned over the couch to study the file in Tomu's hand. His presence distracted Tomu from burning his eyes through the page. "This about the mist ninja?" Sasuke casually asked.

"Leaf ninja," Tomu corrected automatically.

"Do you need help?" Tomu turned to stare at Sasuke and found Sasuke's dark eyes watching him intently.

"You're not ANBU anymore," Tomu reminded him. Sasuke walked around the couch, snatched the folder from Tomu's hands and perused the information.

"There's not much here. What's the objective?"

Tomu sighed. He should probably give his eyes a rest anyways. The last few hours had been spent fighting the words blurring on the page. "I need to prove that the Momochi clan didn't order the attack."

"They're not stupid," Sasuke answered as if that was concrete enough evidence to prove anyone's innocence. "Who sends a junkie to assassinate Naruto? That was doomed to fail."

"Unless someone wanted to intentionally incite violence between Konoha and the clans."

"Hn. How do you know the guy didn't act alone?"

"The way dead ends have been erected too neatly." Tomu rubbed the aching bridge between his brows. "I'm headed to bed. You think you can find anything be my guest."

Technically Tomu wasn't supposed to take his work home. He was supposed to leave it in the underground. But time was of the essence before Konoha was force to either use Momochi as a scapegoat or Momochi attacked first. He needed all the spare seconds he had working the case.

But for right now, he was going to go to bed for a few hours. Or at least try to.

Unable to get to sleep, Tomu bit his lip and activated his sharingan and relived in vivid detail the various times he activated the doujutsu around Mushi. Several hours later, through birthdays, and dates, Tomu focused on the sex until he came into his bedsheets, jolting him out of the fantasy and reminding him that none of it was real. It was a cruel jolt, that left him empty and sobbing with tears.

Tomu pulled himself out of bed and took a shower to clean himself up. He noted that Sasuke had moved to his room. Tomu sighed when he stared at Sasuke's bedroom. Tomu hasn't gotten any sleep but he was afraid that if he was alone it would tempt him to the memories again. Tomu gently opened the door and found Sasuke asleep on the floor witha pillow and blanket. Sasuke must have thrown out the broken bed. Tomu slid next to him and wrapped the covers over his shoulder.

Then he woke up in the middle of the night, cold, and instinctively yanked the covers towards him. He flipped over when the covers were yanked back out of his hand. "There's enough for both of us."

"Get your own." Sasuke grumbled in turn.

They yanked and pulled until the covers tore in two and suddenly neither piece was enough for the both of them. Both men grumbled as they wrapped themselves in what they had and went back to sleep.

* * *

Tomu opened his eyes and stared around the room in confusion. He looked over and Sasuke's spot in bed was empty. Tomu dragged himself up and froze when he entered the living room and saw that the sun was bright through the windows. Sasuke was sitting on the dining room floor, going through the paperwork.

"Why didn't you wake me up!" Tomu demanded angrily. He wanted to start early this morning to begin tracing Jin Momochi's schedule leading up to the assassination. Perhaps if he walked the same roads, he'd see something.

"You needed the sleep." Sasuke said, and then as if it was not important at all, "I found something."

"What?" Tomu asked as he combed several fingers through his bed-hair and crouched down to where Sasuke was studying a map of Konoha. "Alright, what you got?" Tomu asked, his anger over the missing alarm gone for the meantime.

"A week leading up to the assassination attempt, Jin stopped visiting the drug den he frequented," Sasuke tapped on the copy of Jin's schedule. "During that week, where did he get his drugs? He hadn't been spotted at the clinic or any of the other dens. Where else can you get drugs in Konoha?"

"There's nowhere else. Naruto has gotten such a tight control on the situation that they either flow through the government or through the dens."

Sasuke gave Tomu a fixed stare, "Who supplies the government and the dens?"

Tomu's eyes widened. "You think the Akimichi is trying to start a civil war?"

"It was your idea in the first place." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. It was circumstantial evidence at best and nothing Captain Tiger would approve of. "Then I began thinking, if I wanted to convince someone to assassinate the Hokage, I would approach them discreetly with no one else around. According to this schedule, he stopped going to the den on the 8th, which mean someone probably intercepted him. I've been mapping his route and trying to determine which areas would be best suited to make contact."

Tomu stared at Sasuke until the words tumbled from his lips, "I could kiss you right now."

Sasuke jolted up with a glare that said, 'Don't you dare.'

Tomu chuckled as he joined Sasuke on the couch. He bit his lip as he followed the red line of the route. "All of these streets are very busy. It would be very unlikely if someone approached him." Sasuke nodded, acknowledging the problem he's been stuck on all morning.

"Wait," Tomu pointed to a street name. "In his file, no one has ever spotted him walking along this street. But, if he takes a shortcut through here," Tomu dragged his finger across what looked like a building on the map. "It's two buildings," Tomu explained. "There is a small alley between them that lets out on the other side."

It was something Sasuke would have never known by staring at the map. Before Tomu could jolt up and follow the lead, Sasuke caught Tomu by the arm. "Let me go with you."

"Look, I know you're probably bored but I could get in trouble for letting you follow me around on this case. You're not ANBU. And you probably won't be reinstated until Naruto is back on his feet and there is someone in Konoha who can handle you. I'll be fine. How about you grab some groceries because we're running rather low."

"I'm not some fucking housewife."

"No, you're my bum roommate who doesn't have a job." Sasuke was about to hit him. He could tell. "Sasuke, please. It's been a long fucking week and I do not have the energy to deal with your shit right now."

Sasuke battered Tomu with a glare as if it could physically tear down Tomu's stubbornness. But this was one battle Tomu refused to stand down. They could have been there all day. Sasuke let go of Tomu's hand and tucked his head against the couch pillow. "What groceries do you need?" Sasuke mumbled.

Tomu wrote a quick list and rushed out the door with a relieved sigh. He never knew which battles Sasuke would concede to.

* * *

ANBU Fox dropped down into the alleyway and immediately activated the sharingan. The alleyway was a very narrow space with hardly room to fit two people standing shoulder to shoulder. There was trash throughout the space but what caught his attention was how someone had dumped an entire trashcan and spread a black bag along the ground, as if someone used it to lay down. Tomu crouched down and picked up loose strands of hair.

They were brown but he had to run it through the lab to be sure it confirmed a match to Jin Momochi. Tomu's sharingan eye caught it immediately, a bag tucked away behind the trash. He opened it and found it largely empty but for faint traces of vaguely brown powder. The needle immediately hinted at what Tomu was dealing with.

It was a new drug, only recently introduced to the world economy. He's seen it before in Ame. Rumor had it that it was a problem in many civilian populated areas. No one knew where the drug was coming from but if Tomu had to hazard a guess, it was probably the Akimichi. After hearing the problem it was causing in the capital, but never seeing its like once in Konoha, Tomu had the suspicion that the Akimichi didn't like the drug on their own streets although they could care less about everyone else's. The drug was so addictive that it could put a ninja village at risk by rendering an entire ninja population incapable of service. Say what you will about the Akimichi but they did love Konoha. And money, but not when it puts Konoha at risk.

The problem was connecting the drug to the clan. Fox had no doubt that they've covered their tracks.

Fox snapped on gloves and deposited the small amount into a clear white bag. It should be enough to see if this was the substance found in Jin's system when he died. Fox knew forensics might be able to uncover the exact chemical make-up and where the poppy plant it was extracted from might have come from. If it could be traced to the large piece of land the Akimichi owned in Fire country to grow their drugs, it would be the missing puzzle piece he needed.

Fox went straight to the lab with his discovery. Within seconds they were able to match the strands of hair to Jin. "What about this?" Fox asked as he handed over the drug. If he knew where it came from, he could figure out how it got into Konoha.

"This will take some time. It should be ready by tomorrow."

"Thanks," Fox replied and decided to call an early day.

* * *

Sasuke decided that he hated grocery shopping. There were too many choices to choose from and he didn't know exactly what Tomu wanted. There were too many old ladies going too slow at the checkout. There were too many people crowding the market. But he didn't kill anyway, so his therapist would consider it a success.

Sasuke slammed the bags of groceries on the counter and noticed that the lights were already on. Tomu must be home early. He had kicked off his shoes at the door and peeked into Tomu's bedroom. Sasuke froze at the sight of Tomu with his sharingan active staring blankly into nothingness.

Immediately Sasuke knew what Tomu was doing. He rushed to check the boy's vital signs. Sasuke cursed as he grabbed a knife from the kitchen and placed Tomu's arm over his lap. It was dangerous to suddenly wake them out of it. They have to wake themselves to cause the least amount of damage. Sasuke pressed the knife into Tomu's arm and constantly applied pressure to the point. Eventually the pain will grow stronger than the memory and it will tug him back to reality.

It took ten long ass minutes before Tomu jerked into a sitting position. "Hey," Tomu complained faint. "What are you doing to my arm?"

Sasuke punched him in the face. Tomu cradled his nose and complained, "What did you do that for?"

Sasuke grabbed him by the shirt fiercely. "Uchiha have died in their memories. Do you think you're the first person to deal with your grief in this way? They begin losing track of time and die of starvation before anyone finds them. If not, they begin confusing their memories with the real world and they get _stuck._ They're practically in a coma and don't ever come back."

"I didn't know," Tomu said softly and immediately deactivated his sharingan.

Sasuke's shoulders relaxed. Of course he didn't know. Sasuke had never told him. Sasuke was silent for a second and then said, "You need to get out of this place. Believe me, it's not healthy living with your ghosts."

Tomu looked around the small apartment. Everywhere he looked he saw Mushi. He scratched his arm nervously.

"You should move back to the compound," Sasuke suggested.

Tomu looked up at Sasuke. "You should move back to the compound."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but didn't. Sasuke's brows furrowed together. Then Sasuke kicked Tomu off the bed. "Make dinner."

"You could say please," Tomu grumbled as he opened the refrigerator.

Sasuke watched him out of the corner of his eye. It was something only a Uchiha or Yamanaka had to worry about: losing themselves to their memories. It was why the clan highly suggested using the sharingan during battle only. But no one had taught Tomu how to properly use it. Instead the boy used it for every birthday, sexual encounter, and any event he thought worthy of remembering. Sasuke was going to have to watch him very carefully.

Finally, Tomu placed two bowls of tomato soup onto the table. "Did you find anything?" Sasuke asked.

Tomu nodded and recounted what he had found in the alley.

After they finished dinner, Tomu showered while Sasuke washed the dishes. Sasuke looked over his shoulder when Tomu went into his bedroom to lay down. Tomu stared up at the ceiling in his bed. And he thought of Mushi. No doubt Sasuke probably had a point but Tomu was pretty confident he could find his way back. He just need to feel her skin against his again. Tomu was about to activate his sharingan when the door suddenly swung open and Sasuke dropped down onto the bed.

"Sasuke, wrong bed."

"Go. To. sleep." Sasuke growled out before tugging on the covers. Tomu grumbled when he pulled them back.

One more tug and they found an agreeable medium.

* * *

That morning, Tomu jogged to the ANBU underground to see what forensics had found. Then he would take the sample and see if he could convince an Inuzuka to track it. He would have to pull a few favors as they don't like their dogs sniffing drugs unless it was a formal mission.

Fox greeted the scientist in the room, pulled the box with the number on it, and reached for the report. "What the fuck?"

According to the document, what Fox had found yesterday was sugar. Fox immediately activated his sharingan and went back through the details. No, definitely not sugar.

"Where is the original sample?" Fox asked.

"Over here." The scientist on duty broke a seal in one of the desks and opened the tray. Tomu frowned. This was sugar. With his sharingan he could see his fingerprints were no longer on the bag. This had been switched in.

Fox looked at the report again and found the codename of the agent who analyzed the sample. "When does he come into work?"

"Not for a few more hours," the scientist replied.

Fox cursed as he took the sample and the report. He raced back to the alley hoping he had missed some. Fox gritted his teeth angrily. This kept happening. Shit disappearing. Evidence gone in the middle of the night. And this case was way too important to let it go this time. He was practically running through the underground to reach the nearest exit.

He was focused on his thoughts and hardly paid attention to the people who passed him in the hallway. Suddenly someone passed him by too close. Fox looked up into the eyes of the man, and his sharingan activated on instinct, right before a kunai was suddenly shoved into his gut as he was quickly pressed back into a room. Fox hardly had time to react, when the kunai stabbed into him again and again for good measure. Quick, professional, he was dying.

His attacker pulled the mask from his face and cursed, "Oh fuck. They better pay me extra for this."

Fox closed his eyes for the last time.

And then opened them back in the hallway. He looked around confused as the man who had attacked him casually walked towards his direction. The door of the room he had been slammed into was only a few more steps away. Fox walked towards it. The man turned.

This time Fox caught the kunai and the force of it threw him back into the room. He wrestled with the man to get the kunai out of his hand and his sharingan noticed another in his other hand. Fox rolled to evade it in the small room. It didn't allow much space for taijutsu. Fox eyes widened when the room suddenly lit with the light of a paper bomb that fluttered inches from Fox's face.

The sharingan allowed him time to come up with a plan. He was too close but Sasuke had taught him some moves to counteract other fire techniques. Fox sped through the hand signals.

The explosion burst down the door and lit the entire hallway in dark smoke.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the instructions on the box of instant white rice. He was determined to cook dinner tonight. Tomu was working himself too hard and Sasuke needed to take some of the pressure off the kid. Sasuke set the pot to boil, frowned at how long it was taking, and did a small fire jutsu in his impatience.

Sasuke whipped around when a sudden presence entered the room. He heard the fall of a footstep and flung the pot on instinct at his attacker. His eyes went wide at the sound of a startled girlish scream and turned to find Ame Uzumaki's mouth gaped open liked a fish as the boiling water burned into her skin.

Sasuke snapped the girl under his arm, hauled her to the bathroom, and dropped her under a shower of cold water. Oh Kami. He hurt one of Naruto's children. Sasuke's hand were shaking under the torrent of cold water. What had he done? Stupid Sasuke. Stupid fucking Sasuke.

His breath hitched when her small hands rested against the sides of his face. He was crying. Ame wasn't. "Fuck that shit hurt. Move, I'm soaking wet and I have healing chakra."

Sasuke nodded his head numbly and moved aside. Ame hair was bedraggled. She lifted herself atop the counter and began healing her burns. "That was my fault," Ame whispered. "I should have knocked. You'd think I'd learn the first time."

It took several seconds for Sasuke to get his shit together. He turned off the shower and watched water drip from his clothes. Belatedly, he realized Ame had used Tomu's hiraishin kunai on the bookshelf. But he didn't recognize her scent or the weight of her footstep and automatically assumed threat.

"I hiraishined behind dad once before." Ame said as she kicked her legs. "Except Dad, he went all Demon Fox and-" Ame tapped the long ragged scar down her arm. "It's why he locked away the Kyuubi - because he hurt me. Lesson learned. Don't hiraishin behind S-class ninja."

"Why are you here?" Sasuke didn't mean to sound rude but the sudden incident has left him exhausted.

Ame lifted up her head and weighed her words. "I came to get you. Tomu is in the hospital."

* * *

"It wasn't Orochimaru," were the first words out of Tomu's mouth when Ame and Sasuke hiraishined into his hospital room. Sasuke didn't know how much he needed to hear those words until he did. The fear that had throttled his throat began to ease. The tension in his shoulders were able to relax enough for Sasuke to cross his arms.

"Your habit of ending up in the hospital is increasing of late. I don't like it," Ame told him quite frankly.

Sasuke scanned over Tomu's injuries. There was an unmistakable smell of fire about him but he hadn't suffered any burns. But he did have a concussion and a severe fracture in his leg.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

Tomu dropped his eyes to fiddle with a loose strand of thread in the hospital sheet. Tomu glanced briefly at Ame.

"Don't give me that Tomu. While dad is gone, I am the head of the Uzumaki clan. I am entitled to know what's going on. So what the fuck happened this time?"

"I think someone tried to assassinate me," Tomu whispered.

Before Sasuke could say anything, Ame was already sighing in exasperation as if she couldn't even be bothered to be surprised by the news. She lifted her hands and ticked off her fingers, "Your psycho cousin tries to kill you," Ame glanced at Sasuke, "No offense. The Snake Sannin is after you and now someone is trying to assassinate you, all within the past year! Seriously Tomu, I'm considering locking you in the basement."

Sasuke found himself nodding his head in agreement. Tomu always bemoaned the fact that he was a well of bad luck but only now did Sasuke start believing it. "Describe the attack."

Tomu went further back and described the incident that had happened in the lab and then the weird time gap in the hallway. Sasuke was impressed by the fact Tomu had managed to perform the fire shielding jutsu in a snap of the moment. There was not a burn on him. But the force of the explosion had knocked him back to the wall, which had contributed to his other injuries. Sasuke was concerned by the time distortion.

"I don't know what happened. I'm not sure it was a genjutsu or what."

Sasuke grabbed Tomu by the jaw. "Activate the mangekyou."

When it came to the sharingan, Tomu didn't question him anymore. He did what he was told. It was still uncomfortable to have Sasuke piercing him with hard amber eyes.

"The tomoe reminds me of Shisui but it's not the exact pattern. You have Amaterasu in your left eye but you could have a powerful genjutsu ability in your right. I'm going to have to go through the family records to be sure. It could be something akin to what Obito had. It's very probable the mangekyou automatically casted itself when you looked into the man's eyes." Sasuke said very sharply, "You could have died."

The concern and reprimand in Sasuke's voice was uncomfortable. He mumbled, "The Captain stopped by briefly. Since it was an ANBU who attacked me, he decided not to post any guards on my door but you're essentially back to bodyguard duty."

"But why?" Ame asked. "Is it because of the sharingan or do they know about dad and someone is trying to lure him back home?"

Tomu shook his head. "When that guy killed me he didn't know who I was. No, this was about the evidence. I was getting close. Those drugs were the link. If only I can-"

Sasuke said decisively. "I not losing someone else to another one of Konoha's conspiracies. No, you will heal."

Tomu grumbled as he face-planted in the pillow. "Yeah, the Captain took me off the case anyways. I'm on leave."

"When you get out of here, you're moving back to the compound," Ame decided.

"There's nothing wrong with my place. Besides, I can't because Sasuke is supposed to guard me." Tomu gave a smug smile at his perfectly valid excuse.

"While I watch him here in the hospital, begin packing his things. I can handle my own items." Sasuke suddenly said, completely disarming Tomu.

Ame swirled the handle of a hiraishin kunai in her fingers thoughtfully. "What about Mushi's stuff?"

Sasuke was well aware that Mushi clothes were still in the drawers, her hood still hung from the coat rack, her shoes were still on the shoe shelf.

"Don't touch them," Tomu grumbled under his breath.

"Tomu, you can't keep her clothes forever."

"Don't touch them," Tomu snapped.

Ame huffed, "I'll put them in a storage scroll." Then she hiraishined away.

Tomu glared at Sasuke as if he had betrayed him. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and then leaned against Tomu's bedside. Tomu dropped his head to his knees until reason finally caught up with his turbulent emotions, "Cousin."

"Hn."

"If I die, don't throw away my tape collection."

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Listen to it. Appreciate it," Tomu answered obviously. "Don't destroy Konoha either."

"No promises."

* * *

"You don't have to do this," Tomu said for the seventh time today. Tomu had been released from the hospital but he was confined to a temporary wheelchair that Sasuke pushed down the streets.

The walls of the compound approached them quickly, too quickly. Sasuke stopped before the open doors.

"I can wheel myself in."

Sasuke clenched his fist around the handles of the wheelchair and pushed Tomu inside. Sasuke looked around. It was odd and disorientating and he could feel the panic in his chest, but this time, now knowing to expect it, he could control it better. "It's empty."

"It normally is during the day. Most of the kids leave for school. Naruto hires assistants to help with the babies and toddlers. Everyone kind of calls them 'Auntie.' They're located further in."

Sasuke noticed that most of the houses had been renovated and repurposed. Ame poked her head out of the main house, where his old home used to stand. Sasuke asked annoyed, "What happened to my house?"

"Naruto thought it bad taste to continue living in it, so he destroyed it and built on top. That's the only house he completely destroyed. The rest of them I renovated. Further in the back, there remains a lot of untouched houses. I haven't gotten around to fixing them up yet."

"You fixed them?"

"I used to work in construction when I was a civilian. I did most of the work. Naruto was the labor. Seriously, don't trust that guy to build a house."

Ame skipped over to them with a mischievous smile. "Oh no," Tomu whispered.

"Five."

"Ame, you didn't." Tomu groaned.

"Four, three, two, one!" Suddenly children began popping out of every crevice. They threw paint from the rooftops. They tossed balloons and threw streamers. Everyone shouted, "Welcome home!"

"Ame! They're supposed to be in school!"

* * *

Sasuke left Tomu with his party. He couldn't handle being around that many number of children anyway. Sasuke stepped back and went exploring around the ground, or rather familiarizing himself with what has changed. The large training grounds of the Uchiha were pretty much the same and evidently Naruto saw that it got plenty of use. Grass was overturned everywhere and target dummies were worn down. The marks where he used to throw kunai were still on the trees, except now, joined by a few others.

Sasuke walked further and further away from the noise of the main house and the quieter it got, the more it reminded of Sasuke how it used to be. More and more of the houses in the back had remained untouched, and sometimes when Sasuke turned his head too quickly, he could see the shadows of the people who used to live there. Except now, where the memories used to fill him with anger, he just felt a dull ache.

Sasuke stopped and coughed in the smoke when he opened the door to his uncle's old forge. The equipment was outdated but that was easy enough to replace. A smiled touched his lips when he dragged his hand around an anvil.

Sasuke retreated back outside. He closed the door behind him, sucked in a breath and continued forward until he opened the rustic back gate of the compound. The gate creaked open to the large maple forest that has now invaded inside of the compound itself. New buds and saplings grew were they hadn't been before. He followed the trail up the hill to the small Uchiha shrine located at the top.

Naruto hadn't touched it. Nor had Naruto touched the small graves surrounding it. Then Sasuke legs grew numb as he pushed himself forward until he eventually found the two stones – the markers he had used for his parent's grave. They were undisturbed, as if time hadn't moved here at all. Sasuke bowed his head. The last time he had been here, Sasuke had buried his parents.

And now he was here again, years later – older, stronger, and perhaps a little wiser than he had been at twelve years old.

He expected to feel angry, a rekindling of his thirst for vengeance, ashamed of himself that he had taken so long to return, perhaps even break down in tears.

He never expected to feel at peace.

"I'm home."

* * *

After he left the graves, Sasuke explored the empty houses in the back of the compound. Even when he had been living here, he had not gone into any house but his own. There were still personal effects that Naruto had stuffed into boxes throughout some of the homes. It was obvious that someone came through and dusted from time to time, but otherwise they were untouched.

Sasuke opened a drawer and paused his hand on a folded white piece of cloth. Sasuke grabbed it and shook out the yukata to reveal the Uchiha symbol on the back. His fingers grazed reverently over the fan.

He knew he couldn't wear it. He was supposed to be a secret but... Sasuke slipped it slowly over his shoulders.

Sasuke didn't reemerge from his foray into the past until the compound was once again quiet and most of the children had been sent off to bed. There was still evidence of the party: streamers caught on trees, pieces of popped balloons strewn around, and the distance smell of chili that seemed to linger in the grass.

Convincing himself that he was looking for Tomu, he stepped into the main house. The door was swung wide open and for just a moment, a sense of déjà vu hit him. Before the massacre, the door was always open and family members came in and out as they pleased. Open doors. He missed them.

But that's where the similarities ended. It was drastically different than the one he had known as a child. It was less traditional with wide open spaces to allow children to run around unfettered. There were a lot of windows that Sasuke imagined lit up the place during the day.

"Do you want some cake?" Sasuke realized he had just passed the entryway to the kitchen where Ame was swinging her legs against the countertop with a piece of cake in her lap. "It's strawberry."

"I don't like sweets."

"More for me," Ame said smugly as she stuffed a piece of it in her mouth. "Looking for Tomu? His room is down the hall to the left. First one."

He knocked on Tomu's bedroom and waited impatiently for him to say something, then frowned and pushed open the door. Sasuke's frown grew even darker at the sight of Tomu staring blankly with his sharingan activated. Heated breaths left his lips, the blanket pushed off him, and an erection leaking pre-cum onto his stomach made it rather obvious what sort of memory he was reliving.

Sasuke paused in thought to figure out a safe way to pull him out of it. It would have to be something that overrode the senses he was experiencing right now. Sasuke would probably have to cut the kids arm off just to activate a sense extreme enough to override the highs of sex. He was going to have to wait. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Several minutes later, Tomu's body tensed with a moan and cum jetted onto his chest. Then Sasuke stormed forward and none too kindly kneed Tomu in the nuts.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Tomu snapped out of it, jumping so high he literally fell to the floor in the fetal position.

Sasuke snatched him by the hair. "If you weren't already healing from injuries, I swear I'd put you in the hospital again." Sasuke said and then dragged Tomu naked through the house to a bathroom, turned the shower to cold and threw the kid in.

Tomu screamed as if Sasuke was torturing him. "What did I do to deserve this?" Tomu whined, hiccupping in the shower.

Sasuke folded his arms and pressed his back against the shower door. "I told you to stop doing that."

"It was just one more time," Tomu complained as the cold beat against his shoulders, still rocking to lessen the pain Sasuke inflicted on his sensitive groin.

"It is possible to masturbate without the sharingan," Sasuke snapped. It was literally like dealing with an irresponsible child.

"Oh yeah like you would know," Tomu snickered as he tossed aside his wet bandages in the shower. "Look, that was the last time I promise. But you kick me in the balls again and I'm burning you down with Amaterasu."

"You mean the jutsu you don't know how to stop?" Sasuke scoffed. "You'll just end up burning your own balls off."

"You know what, shut up. Why are you still here? I can take a shower by myself."

"It wouldn't surprise if you need to the sharingan to help you take a shower too."

"Well…"

Sasuke turned his head. "Wait, seriously? _You use the sharingan to take a shower?!"_

"Just to make sure everything is clean and I don't miss anything! Do you know how much you can miss without the sharingan?"

Sasuke sucked in a breath. It was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. Sasuke's head slapped back against the shower as a confusing burst of laughter fell from his chest.

This kid was driving him insane.

* * *

 

Sasuke waited until he was certain Tomu had fallen asleep, which oddly ended with the two of them squeezed into a single-sized bed fighting each other for limb space. Eventually Tomu had ended perched horizontally, his head settled on Sasuke's stomach and his legs sprawled against the wall. Sasuke listened as Tomu's breathing evened. He wondered if this was how Itachi felt to watch him sleep. To wonder at his dreams and wish he could take away the problems weighing down the slight frown on his lips.

Kami. Sasuke could no longer imagine a life without this kid.

Eventually, Sasuke slipped out the bed. He walked down the dark hallway and paused when he heard hushed voices. Alarmed, Sasuke crept forward and leaned his head into the library. A small figure was curled up on the couch, head leaned against the pillow, toes curled underneath his legs. Sasuke recognized the face of Naruto's second heir Ichigo. Atop his stomach sat a small frog with its mouth wide open.

"...and Goku defeated Piccolo at the tournament. The end," Naruto's voice droned softly from the frog. A pause, "You still awake?"

"Yeah," The preteen answered timidly.

"Nightmares really bad tonight?"

Another long pause, "Yeah. I'm sorry. I know I'm not supposed to contact you and-"

"It's alright. I'll stay up with you as long as you need. Want to read another story?"

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss you."

"I miss you too."

Ichigo curled around the frog as if he could curl underneath his father's voice like a blanket. As Naruto began the next story with, "Once upon a time..." Sasuke silently slipped out of the house.

Honestly, it was still hard for him to imagine Naruto as a father. Sometimes he still saw that unpredictable knuckle-headed little kid you couldn't trust with the Daimyo's cat. But he supposed that was his fault for being stuck on the past. Naruto wasn't a kid anymore. Neither was he.

* * *

No one could enter the ANBU underground without the tattoo on your arm. Without it, all kinds of alarms would set off before you made it an inch inside. But as Sasuke was on temporary leave, his tattoo hadn't been deactivated. It was simple for him to henge his way underground into Captain Tiger's office.

Before Captain Tiger could look up from his desk, Sasuke demanded, "I want back in. Put me on Fox's case."

The Captain didn't even seem surprised by Sasuke's presence. "Crow, you are aware of the case he was working on? The ANBU agent who attempted the assassination was one of our top tier agents in the assassination division. Only someone with high connections, a lot of money, and probably a bit of blackmail can hire one of our own agents right from under us."

"I understand. I will continue the investigation where he left off. Furthermore, the assassin was targeting the mask. They do not know his identity."

Captain Tiger shook his head. "An investigation into Konoha's elite could take months, but it does not resolve our current issue. Although I doubt the Momochi clan were behind Tomu's assassination that does not prove the Momochi clan's innocence in all of this. They still could have easily given Jin Momochi the drugs. Its circumstantial evidence. It's not proof."

"I can get you proof," Sasuke said without missing a beat.

"How?"

"I need a body."

* * *

Sasuke had only seen Orochimaru perform the technique once, but it was once with the sharingan and that was enough. Sasuke needed a living sacrifice for the technique to work but Tsunade had compromised with a terminally ill patient from the hospital who was schedule to end life support in the next week. It would have to do. It was lucky that they had Jin Momochi's body.

Only four people were in the room: The Hokage, Ino, Captain Tiger, and Sasuke. Sasuke smeared the DNA of the assassin on the specialized scroll. Sasuke began the seals and declared, "Impure World Reincarnation."

Dust and ash began to cover the sacrifice and he screamed in pain. Honestly, Sasuke found the jutsu distasteful. Not because it wasn't useful, but it linked him to Orochimaru and that chafed him. The jutsu took hours to complete but eventually the man sat up with Jin's cracked face.

"I fucked up didn't I," Jin Momochi moaned as Ino approached him and got to work. Even though the man was technically dead, it was still possible for him to lie and protect the Momochi Clan.

"Do you remember attempting to assassinate the Kage?"

"Which one?" Jin Momochi asked.

"There's more than one?" Ino asked curiously.

"I was a part of the conspiracy to assassinate the former Mizukage, Houzuki, but the Demon Fox took care of it first." It was the first time anyone had heard about a conspiracy among the mist ninja but none were surprised.

"We're referring to the Hokage."

"Ah yes, not one of my better days."

"I'd say, considering you died," Ino drawled.

"There are days worse than death," Jin Momochi winced as his eyes grew distant.

"Are you apart of a Momochi clan conspiracy to kill the Hokage?"

Jin Momochi barked out, "Why would the Momochi Clan want to kill the Hokage? He's treated us far better than the fucking Mizukage ever has."

"What happened then?"

"There was this guy who stopped me on the streets. Gave me some drugs. Best high I've had in a long time. He said he'd give me some more to assassinate the Hokage."

"You did it for drugs?!"

"Obviously it was a good idea at the time." Jin Momochi replied sarcastically. Sasuke had a feeling that this is who the man was before the drugs, before the wars scarred him.

"Who was the guy? Can you describe him?"

"I could, but I doubt it would help. He was certainly wearing a henge."

"Is there nothing you can tell us about this guy?"

After a pause. "I'm sorry. He was careful."

"And where exactly did he approach you?" Sasuke stepped forward to ask and gave a smug smirk when Jin described the alleyway Sasuke and Tomu had discovered.

Ino continued with the cross-examination, making sure that the information they already had and facts checked out correctly. Ino gave a slight shake of her head. Jin wasn't lying about anything.

"It certainly wasn't the clan. They wouldn't trust me to do anything right. Before you put me back in the dirt or whatever this jutsu is can you just let them know I'm sorry? I didn't want to cause trouble for everyone I just... couldn't help it. Sometimes we make stupid decisions and there is no amount of redemption that can take them back."

"They'll forgive you," Sasuke said suddenly. "Because your family."

Jin gave a waned but grateful smile. "The shit we put family through, huh?"

"Alright, I've heard enough. Go back and question the Momochi clan member on what they were doing at the time of this drug meeting. If their alibis check out, I'll call off the ANBU from the Momochi compound" the Hokage ordered.

* * *

The ANBU were called off four hours later. The tension that almost threatened to break Konoha in half eased for the first time in weeks. Over the radio, a representative of the administration declared that they had uncovered definitive proof that the assassin had been working alone. Although privately, Sasuke knew Tomu and he would be searching for the man behind the drugs.

Tomu and Sasuke sat atop the walls of the Uzumaki compound.

Tomu bit his lip and then asked, "Have you ever thought about using that jutsu for... personal use? I mean, don't you ever want to see your parents again?"

"No."

"But you don't at least want to talk to them one last time?"

"That's not a conversation I want to have," Sasuke said frankly. It had never crossed his mind to use the resurrection jutsu in that manner.

"But what about your brother Itachi? You could bring him back."

"The dead are dead," Sasuke answered. He wouldn't dare dishonor Itachi in that manner even though Itachi has been brought back once before. Sasuke had once thought that it would be nice to have one last conversation with Itachi, share several more words with each other, but every day that passed, confronting Itachi's ghost has begun to matter less and less. He buried Itachi. Let Itachi rest.

Sasuke told Tomu, "Mushi's entire body was burned in the fire. There isn't DNA of her left to use for the jutsu."

"That's not what I was asking," Tomu snapped and tucked his head into his arms. "I know she's gone."

Tomu looked up at Sasuke and then back at Konoha. Then he whispered, "I think I'm more addicted to the pain. Whenever I use the sharingan and relive the memories, I try to get lost in them because I know when I snap out of it it'll hurt all the more. And I want it to hurt, because I know that eventually the pain will fade. I go in and come out just to live the pain all over again as if her death had just happened."

Sasuke understood a little. When his family had died, he wanted Itachi to hurt. When Itachi died, he wanted everyone to hurt. His grief was rooted in causing pain to others but for Tomu, he caused himself pain.

Tomu scratched his neck self-consciously. "I know I haven't been easy to deal with lately, but thanks for being here when Naruto couldn't be."

"I haven't done anything."

"Just... thanks."

Sasuke looked down as Tomu stretched out his legs and placed them across Sasuke's lap. Sasuke stared at Tomu's legs annoyed, then leaned his head against the gate. Spring was dawning in Konoha. From the gate, you could see the stretch of green forests wakening up from winter. Those were the forests he trained in with Itachi. He played hide-n-seek with his cousins among the boughs. He'd sit atop the gate with his mother with a cup of hot chocolate and map the stars.

He missed this view.

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**Sasuke could no longer imagine a life without this kid.** _

* * *

 


	13. Kusanagi

 

The breeze swept over Sasuke's tousled bed hair and woke him to wafts of teardrop tulips, fields of pink moss, and cherry blossoms in bloom. Sasuke lifted from the futon and for several moments absorbed where he was – the smell was unmistakable. He was in Konoha early-spring.

Bouts of color greeted Sasuke when he went outside to heat the old-fashioned bathhouse. It had very little modern conveniences and lived firmly in the past. While the rest of the Uzumaki compound woke up to quick showers and in-door plumbing, Sasuke took his time adding wood to the flame and waiting for the bathhouse to heat.

Sasuke soaped and cleaned himself thoroughly before submerging himself into the steaming bath. Sasuke pressed a towel against his forehead and closed his eyes to the relaxing heat of the water. His skin began to redden, almost as pink as the fallen plum blossoms that had stolen through the window and floated on the bathwater.

Behind closed eyelids, Sasuke heard the laughter of children. He heard the gossip of aged women, the deep booming laughter of his uncle, Itachi's squawk at the idea of getting his hair wet, the ghost of a splash on his skin. With a suction of air, Sasuke snapped his eyes open to the empty bathhouse.

Sasuke shivered.

The water was still warm when Sasuke retreated back toward his uncle's house of which he had taken up residence. Sometimes the past still haunted him and bloomed in his chest at the most unexpected of times.

Sasuke adorned a black shirt and loose blue kendo pants. Then he went over to the adjoining forge and continued his project to bring the old equipment back to life. It was far from the rumbling machinery of Narita's forge in Ame. This one was stone, wood, and fire.

Sasuke had determined something was wrong with the bellows. He began taking it apart to find the cause of the problem.

"They say you saved Konoha."

Sasuke looked up to find Naruto leaning in the open doorway. It was the small things – like the furrow of Naruto's brow when he was still in thought, how his eyes reflected azure in the sunlight, or the way he leaned with ease and effortless strength. No henge could capture that.

"It was just one jutsu," Sasuke grumbled. It was Orochimaru's jutsu.

Sasuke popped open the wooden lid and blanched at the sight of the rotted wood. He was going to have to rebuild the entire thing.

But now Naruto was back.

He didn't need to watch over Tomu anymore. Naruto could take care of him. He'd have to leave and his uncle's forge would go unrepaired. This was only ever supposed to be temporary.

Sasuke knew he should ask if should go, or if he could stay, but he feared the word 'no'. So Sasuke stayed quiet and settled with a wistful stare on the broken forge.

He should really go. The longer he stayed, the more time it had to possess his bones, and the more dangerous he came to calling it home again.

Then Naruto left.

Sasuke honestly couldn't figure out if that was an invitation or not. Then it occurred to him that this was one of the first amicable conversation they've had since he's returned to the village – even if it was just two sentences. That was a good sign right?

Sasuke breathed in his stress. Quite frankly, Naruto's re-appearance upturned his apparent peace like a helpless blossom in the wind. His stare once again wandered over to the forge. Perhaps he could get it working again before Naruto told him to leave.

Tomu was still momentarily on leave while his leg healed, so it didn't take much strong-arming to pressure Tomu to accompany him into the woods in search of reliable wood.

"What are you going to do once you've fixed that old forge?" Tomu asked curiously as he leaned back against a tree, rubbing a hand down his leg while Sasuke studied a fallen log.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders in response to Tomu's question. He hasn't really thought about afterwards. He just wanted to fix it. And either way, it was something to do while he waited for Tomu to heal.

"Good. You need a hobby other than harassing me all day."

Sasuke scoffed. He had found Tomu with a sketchpad lounging underneath a pregnant cherry blossom tree. "You weren't doing anything."

"Hey, I was designing an addition to the nursery."

Sasuke gave a doubtful eyebrow. It looked like napping to him.

Tomu watched Sasuke silently as Sasuke approved of the log and then unsheathed his sword. Tomu was rather impressed when Sasuke infused the blade with chakra and cut down in quick strokes. The force of the blow swept wind past Tomu's face and had cherry blossoms raining down on their heads by the time Sasuke was finished cutting neat wooden planks.

Tomu laughed at Sasuke's need to flourish the end of his lumberjack career with the graceful movement of sheathing his sword. Pink petals were caught and tangled in his blue hair. Sasuke gave Tomu's laugh a confused stare, and then with a grunt, shook out his hair.

"Did I get them all?"

"Sure," Tomu said evasively. Tomu pushed his weight against the tree and stood up. "I'm really glad Naruto let you stay."

Sasuke stopped in the middle of lifting the stacks of wood on his shoulders. "He said I could?"

Both Uchiha gave each other perplexed stares. Tomu scrunched up his nose. "Wait, you haven't asked him?"

Sasuke frowned. This wasn't good. If Naruto hasn't spoken to Tomu about it, he was probably getting kicked out sooner rather than later – maybe even before Tomu's leg healed. Defensively, Sasuke said, "I'm not going to ask Naruto permission to live in my own compound."

"It's not-" Tomu gave a deep sigh. "I'll talk to him about it."

"No," Sasuke said quickly and outright lied, "I'll do it."

He didn't want Tomu to bring it up and give Naruto a reason to say no even sooner, before he could even get the forge fixed. Tomu dropped in-step with Sasuke as he carried the planks of wood back to the compound.

Tomu reached forward and pulled a cherry blossom from Sasuke's hair before tossing it to the wind.

* * *

The days passed.

On one temperate spring day, Sasuke had fixed the bellows, had replaced the broken bricks, and finally got the forge running again. After he had eaten lunch and gotten a bath from the sweat he had built up since that morning, Sasuke carefully, with all the subtlety of a S-class ninja, crept toward the main house in an effort to avoid bumping into any child, little person, or Naruto.

He remembered seeing books on metallurgy in the library and wanted to read them just in case he stayed longer and had a chance to try and make something. As always, Sasuke ventured out while the kids were at school. The moment the academy ended, it was equal parts mayhem and chaos. Sasuke wanted no part of that. But as the Academy only took students from a certain age, the younger ones were still present. He could hear them screaming and shouting over by the playground Sasuke had seen once in the middle of the night. It was certainly a new addition because Sasuke didn't have a playground growing up in the compound. Of which, Sasuke was still on the fence about. Five-year old Sasuke would have loved it. Adult Sasuke found the idea of a playground in the compound annoying.

Sasuke managed to reach the front door with no incident. The door was open. It was always open.

Sasuke walked in but paused at the sound of voices further into the house. A few more steps down the hallway and he had a good view into the kitchen where he spotted Naruto – covered in different colored paints from head to toe? There were two other children, similarly dressed as if they had rolled around in a rainbow. They systematically handed Naruto a handful of paintbrushes.

"That was so much fun! When do you think Baa-chan will find the pictures we left her?"

"Well…" Naruto drawled cheekily and winked at the kids.

"Do you think she'll like it?"

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed, but was holding in laughter as he did so. "Did you see the boring blue her house was painted? Someone had to brighten that place up."

"I hope she likes the drawing I made of her. I drew it with really big boobies so she knew it was her."

The laughter spilled out of Naruto, like a dam unable to contain too much mirth. He threw his head back laughing, catching himself on the kitchen counter, bubbling and grinning with glee. It was as if someone suddenly tried to squeeze the sun into the room. Sasuke frowned. It made him angry for some indescribable reason. Naruto was nothing but hard lines and a cold distance around him. He missed this warmth.

It was a warmth not even Iraiya could properly portray, simply not enough of Naruto to fully embody the sun that the Uzumaki was made of.

"Go play with the others. I'll finish up here. Then we'll figure out what to do for lunch." The kids nodded.

"Excuse us," the kids exclaimed as they race around Sasuke and out the door.

Naruto turned and noticed Sasuke in the room. The mirth withered away and left behind the dead frame of Naruto's frown. Now it was awkward.

Even though Naruto had been back for days, Sasuke had not seen Naruto except for that first time Naruto had visited him. The compound was big enough for the both of them to have their own sides. Sasuke doubted Naruto had much reason to go to the un-renovated and vacant houses in the back.

But Sasuke had to say something instead of looking like an awkward idiot. "I fixed the forge."

"Okay."

Naruto grabbed the remaining brushes, turned, and washed them as paint slid down his arms.

Sasuke winced at the blatant dismissal. Why was this so fucking hard? Why couldn't they just go back to the way things were before? Why was Naruto making this so difficult?

He should ask. He should get this over with. Pull the arrow out the wound. After all, if Naruto hasn't kicked him out now, maybe he won't. Who was he kidding? Naruto wasn't going to let him stay. But it would be better to know what time-frame he was working with.

Sasuke was going to simply ask, 'Can I stay?' but the words mostly came out as, "I'm staying."

"I don't care."

"What?" Sasuke paused.

"As long you don't hurt the kids, I don't care."

Sasuke stared at Naruto in shock for several moments. All of this stressing out for days on end and Naruto didn't give a shit?!

That familiar molten heat erupted in his chest. Before he could register what he was consciously doing, he was shoving Naruto back against the sink. Naruto caught his hands on the edge with wet paintbrushes dripping between his fingertips. The water dropped wet on Sasuke's foot.

Naruto's eyes turned ice blue. He would have looked more intimidating if someone hadn't smeared the colors of spring all over his face. "Back up," Naruto threatened. Sasuke felt the full weight of Naruto's killing intent and shot back with a dose of his own. The combined killing intent was so palpable that it was visible as heat waves in the air.

Somewhere in the house doors were slammed open and feet ran down stairs.

"You will not disrespect me in my own home," Naruto mandated.

" _Your home?!_ It is my family who is buried here. It is the Uchiha crest under all the paint. Knock down the house but it is still Uchiha land. You should be grateful that I allow you and your brats to live here."

"You disowned all rights to this land when you became a missing-nin. By law, it is mine. You should be grateful I didn't have those graves move to the village cemetery."

The very idea of anyone touching those graves sent Sasuke into a frenzy. The edge of his fist caught Naruto in the eye just before a weight sent Sasuke back against the kitchen island.

For a brief second, Naruto's irises flashed blood red. He wasn't Iraiya. He wasn't going to fucking take Sasuke's abuse in his own home surrounded by his children. Naruto's fury was blinding.

"Dad!"

Naruto swatted Ame away. Sasuke shoved Tomu off of him, just as Naruto slammed into his chest and the entire marble island sundered underneath the blow. Sasuke kneed Naruto in the stomach. Naruto slammed an elbow into Sasuke's nose. It was fury and anger and spite striking out at each other.

The opposing rasengan and raikiri blew off an entire half of the house, taking the entire kitchen with it.

Tomu coughed in the smoke and felt Ame shake in his arms. He had barely just managed to shield themselves from the attack. Tomu's jaw fell at the wreckage and the two grown men viciously wrestling each other at the center of it.

"We've got to stop them Tomu."

Tomu's fingers flew into a series of handseals.

Sasuke whelped in pain as he clutched the sudden fire emanating from his ANBU tattoo. Ame tugged at Naruto's waist, but not before Naruto got in one more bruising punch that undoubtedly broke Sasuke's jaw. Ame pulled him away and Naruto turned to snap at her before stopping in sudden realization. The heat dropped from his face to be replaced with the cold chill of horror.

Tomu raced over to help Sasuke to his feet. He didn't know who started the fight but even he had to admit that the last blow from Naruto was a dirty one. Sasuke yanked out of Tomu's helping hands under Naruto's hard stare.

With unwavering conviction, Naruto demanded, "Get out."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and sneered in taunting challenge, "No."

Naruto would have whipped forward to knock that stupid sneer off of Sasuke's face if it wasn't for Ame's hand in his, rooting him to place.

Sasuke whipped around, stomped over the wreckage, and headed back to his side of the compound.

Naruto gritted his teeth at the sight of Sasuke's retreating back. It felt as if he had lost. It always felt as if he had fucking lost.

* * *

Tomu found Sasuke in the back forest taking out his anger on an innocent tree. Tomu gulped before reaching out and placing a hesitant hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Instead of lashing out, Tomu was extremely relieved when Sasuke deflated against the tree instead.

"I know. I fucked up."

Tomu was also relieved to hear that Sasuke recognized the problem. Tomu crouched down slowly and rubbed his hand in circles between Sasuke's shoulder blades, the way his mother did to him when she finally told him she had cancer. The heave of his back showed the man's exhaustion and how hard he had been pushing himself. "What happened?"

Sasuke leaned sideways against the bark of the tree, facing away from Tomu but not moving away from the massage.

"Counting to ten obviously didn't work," Sasuke criticized his therapist. Granted, he hasn't had an 'episode' since that last explosive argument with Tomu two months ago. But it still didn't change the fact that they seemed more inevitable than manageable. Now that the anger of the moment had subsided, he recognized that he probably should not have made a big deal out of Naruto's ambivalence. Now he just hated himself.

"Tell your therapist that," Tomu suggested. "It takes time to find the right thing that works for you. And let's be honest here, I think being around Naruto makes everything more difficult for you."

"I don't understand why," Sasuke grumbled.

"Because he's important to you," Tomu said obviously. Tomu's arm was getting tired so instead, he leaned his back against Sasuke's back. Tomu didn't know why, but he felt that physically showing Sasuke that he wasn't alone was important. "I'm still paying on that apartment if you want to-"

Tomu could feel the glare Sasuke gave the leaf at his foot. "I'm not leaving."

"But, that is ridiculous Sasuke. If you want to seek peace between the two of you maybe you should start by respecting his wishes. I'll try to work on Naruto for you and convince him to let you back into the compound. But for the meantime I'm still paying rent on that apartment."

"I'm not leaving," Sasuke was in no way budging on the issue. He once thought that maybe he could leave but he had been fooling himself this entire time. This was his home. He wasn't going to abandon it a second time. "And why are you still paying rent on that apartment?"

"Uh…" Tomu heated, caught red-handed. "It's where Mushi and I lived."

Sasuke finally turned and the abrupt move sent Tomu falling backwards. Tomu flailed and fell into Sasuke lap. Sasuke looked down and silently scrutinized Tomu before falling his head back against the tree. "This is the same tree."

"Huh?"

"Whenever I got angry at Father, or Itachi had to reschedule again, I'd come out here and punch this stupid tree. I didn't realize it was the same one until now."

Tomu picked himself up and studied the tree. He's seen the old battered tree before. It was certainly distinctive but never really gave it much thought before. "So you were an angry kid too?"

"I guess I was," Sasuke said slowly. The skin of his knuckles were torn, but he thinks he broke the skin on Naruto's face before they met the bark of the tree.

Tomu pinned Sasuke with a piercing look. "You've got to apologize."

"What for?" Sasuke snapped. "This isn't just _my_ fault. I won't let him win this too."

"Apologizing isn't about winning or losing, Sasuke," Tomu said patiently. "You threw the first punch. You admitted you were wrong. You should apologize."

Sasuke pouted like a petulant child. "It's not going to matter."

"Maybe not. But, look, I've _never_ seen Naruto that angry before."

"You didn't see him after your wedding."

"Touche." Tomu had heard the rumors and seen the devastation of the Kage's office and market district afterwards. "Control is everything to Naruto and losing control like that in front of his kids is definitely tearing him up inside. He shoved Ame. After the war, his PTSD was exacerbated by the Kyuubi. Now that the Kyuubi has been locked away, that doesn't mean he still doesn't deal with it. This compound is his safe place and you attacked him here. I know Naruto. You're not the only one devastated, you're not the only one hurt, you're not the only one angry at himself."

Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows together and sorted carefully through his emotions. "Naruto has PTSD?"

Tomu gave Sasuke a surprised look. "That's not obvious? You two see the same therapist."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders helplessly. He hardly even sees Naruto. And all he sees is the distance between them and that damn emotional wall seemingly built atop Sasuke mistakes, of which Naruto had erected between them. But maybe it was true that Sasuke needed to be the one to make the effort of climbing it.

"Fine, I'll apologize." Tomu beamed at him. Then Sasuke said uncomfortably, "I don't think I can do it alone."

Tomu wiped the dirt from his pants as he stood and offered his hand to help Sasuke up. "You're not alone."

* * *

Naruto was in his workshop. Sasuke was almost relieved to see that Ame was there throwing underhanded concerned looks at her father. With both Tomu and Ame present, he hoped it was enough to prevent the conversation from ending up in another fight. With closer inspection, Naruto's cheeks were heated from physical exertion and water dampened his hair. Sasuke knew from experience that Naruto had the habit of dumping water over his head after an intense training session. It seemed Sasuke wasn't the only one who had released his frustrations through physical exertions.

Naruto's head snapped up once Tomu and Sasuke entered the workshop. Naruto and Sasuke pinned each other with silence as if challenging the other to speak first. Tomu nudged Sasuke in the arm and Sasuke snapped out of it and remembered what he had come here to do.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto leaned back, his arms crossed, and sarcastically replied, "I've heard that one before." Naruto swung his head towards Tomu and visibly softened. "You didn't have to go through all this trouble Tomu. I'm fine."

Sasuke's eye twitched. He could feel his anger build. Naruto had carelessly tossed his words away as if they had meant nothing. It had been terribly difficult to even get this far.

Tomu said in rather confused and small voice, "He meant it."

Naruto scoffed. Then he turned back to Sasuke. "I've agreed to work together as far as taking out Orochimaru but that's where our interactions end. I expect you to be out of the compound in an hour."

Sasuke sucked in a struggling breath. Sasuke recognized that he should probably leave. He's been telling himself this for weeks. It's the very least he could do after all the hurt he's caused Naruto. But… Sasuke closed his eyes. _He didn't want to leave._

"Wait a minute, Naruto," Tomu argued. "I don't know what I would have done without Sasuke while you were gone."

"From what I understand, he put Hohei in the hospital," Naruto said full of judgement and disapproval. "I honestly don't understand why you're still defending him. Trust me, Tomu, you'll be forgiving him for the rest of your life. It'll always be something. He'll continue to betray you. He'll continue to hurt you. And you're the one standing like an idiot by the end of it."

And for a moment, Sasuke believed him. It was only a matter of time before he betrays Tomu again, only a matter of time before he hurts him again. No, no, no, no. He wasn't that Sasuke anymore. He clenched his fist with resolve. "I'll never hurt Tomu."

"You say the same thing about Itachi?" Naruto spat back coldly.

Tomu physically shoved in front of Sasuke, barely managing to catch Sasuke before he sprinted across the room. Sasuke's eyes widened with wild intensity, as if he had the sharingan and could wrapped Naruto in black flames where he stood.

"That's enough!" Ame snapped as she stepped between them. "As the Uzumaki heir, I declare the Uchiha stays."

Naruto gave Ame a flat stare. "As heir, you have the safety of the clan to think about."

"Dad! He was living here for weeks before you came home and everything was fine! What you just said was outright mean. What is wrong with you? He's an orphan just like all the rest of us. This is his home too."

Naruto grumbled, "I really need to put an age limit on that orphan thing." He shook his head and fixed Ame with a stare. "He's your responsibility." Then Naruto left out a back door of the workshop and slammed it closed behind him.

"He's never going to forgive me is he?" Sasuke asked no one in particular.

Ame and Tomu gave each other uneasy glances.

Sasuke should have expected this. Naruto told him before back at the dinner in Tomu's apartment. And even though he hoped maybe something had changed, he finally accepted that some things would always remain broken.

Sasuke had taken Naruto for granted. A small part of him was always certain that if he ever was inclined to return to Konoha, that Naruto would be there, that Naruto would be the one to never give up on him. That Naruto would accept him with open arms and forgive him no matter what.

He had been sorely mistaken.

* * *

"Within the week, Konoha is going to conduct the Cloud handover," ANBU Tiger announced to a room full of his subordinates. "The exact time in unspecified and won't be announced until the operation commences. The Hokage will be meeting with the Raikage in an undisclosed location and handing over the prisoners of war from the Fifth Shinobi War. There are two phases of this operation that concerns my division.

Phase one: A multitude of you have been assigned one person of interest. Once the operation begins, you are to escort your wards safely and in a timely manner to the Forest of Death. Once you arrive at Gate B, you will hand over your charge to the Hokage and his handpicked team of ANBU. It might seem an easy task but you only have a time frame of ten minutes to make sure your ward is at the gate. If anyone is left behind or are late, I will make sure you are personally held accountable."

Sasuke opened his folder and read what task he had been assigned to for phase one. He hadn't been assigned any person. His folder was the only one that contained a list of all the cloud ninja and their family members counted to leave. His task was to make sure everyone made it to the gate. In the wrong hands, this list could easily be used against Konoha to sabotage the handover. He recognized the responsibility Captain Tiger was giving him a chance to carry.

At least someone was placing more trust in him.

"Phase Two: Because this is a diplomatic occasion, the Hokage will be out of the village during the course of phase two. I repeat, the Hokage will be out of the village for an indeterminate amount of time. While he is gone, Konoha will be in a level yellow alert. We will take the same precautions used during the Jounin and Chuunin exams." Sasuke watched as a board in the front of the room dropped down. A projector showed a map of Konoha divided into small pieces. "During Phase Two, a team will be assigned a section of Konoha to regularly patrol."

Sasuke turned a page in his file. His assigned area for Phase Two was the Uzumaki Compound. He frowned. His partner for Phase Two was ANBU Crane. Why not Tomu?

"While the Hokage is out of the village I do not want an eventful night. I'll repeat: I. Do. Not. Want. An. Eventful. Night. We are not the hunter-nin division, we are not the ero-nins, T&I, infiltration, or assassination divisions. We do not go looking for fights, for glory, a reputation, or a quick pay raise. We are the walls of Konoha. We are the ones left behind to protect. What is the first thing you do if you see anything suspicious?"

For some reason, Sasuke felt the Captain's eyes on him.

"Call it in," an ANBU piped up from the corner of the room.

The Captain nodded. "If you see anything suspicious you do not run reckless or idiotically into danger, you call that shit in first. Understood?"

A collective 'understood' rang out all across the room.

"Good, you are all dismissed."

Sasuke waited in the hallway for Tomu who had been sitting on the opposite end of the room. Sasuke immediately frowned at the sight of Tomu's new mask. With the assassination, Tomu's last mask had been compromised so Tomu had no other choice but to retrieve a new one.

ANBU Hawk, Tomu, asked, "You understood everything?"

Sasuke was not amused by Naruto's sense of humor.

"Do you know why Naruto chose that mask?"

"You know, I have no idea," Hawk said as they walked down the hallway.

"I once led a group of ninja that were loyal to me. They were known as team Taka."

Hawk stopped. "Naruto and I need to have a talk. Honestly, I have never seen Naruto treat someone with so much hostility as he does to you. And I was here when Suigetsu had taken over Konoha."

"Suigetsu was a part of Team Taka."

"Oh fuck, Sasuke. Oh shit, I mean Crow," Hawk immediately amended and was doubly glad no one else was in the hallway to overhear him. He usually didn't make such slip-ups in ANBU. Hawk was beginning to realize he had grown too comfortable around Sasuke.

"Why aren't I partnered with you during Phase Two?"

Sasuke couldn't see behind the Hawk mask but the slump of Tomu's shoulders suggested that Tomu was eyeing him warily. "You do realize it's illegal for me to tell you these things?"

Sasuke waited until they were out of the hallway. He pushed Tomu into his new room labeled with the carving of a hawk on the door. Sasuke locked the door behind him. ANBU Hawk gave him a glare before further slapping a privacy seal on the lock.

"I've been given another mission. I was just in the meeting for appearances."

Sasuke crossed his arms, fully expecting Hawk to explain further. Hawk sighed and then revealed his confidential mission. "I've been tasked with escorting Killer Bee to Kiri. Since anything happening to Killer Bee would be a political disaster, Naruto has decided to sneak him out of Konoha at a more indiscriminate time. He didn't want to take chances in case another village discovered our timetable and tried to sabotage the handover."

"And you're doing this mission by yourself?" Already, Sasuke didn't like it.

"To be fair, I'll be with a jinchuuriki and we're supposed to be discreet. The least people on this the better."

"Discreet with sneaking a white-haired dark-skinned rapping ninja through Fire Country? I don't like this."

"It's called a henge," Tomu huffed.

Sasuke still didn't like it. He understood the logic behind the plan but Tomu had just been reinstated in active duty and this was a big mission.

"It'll be fine. After I've gotten Killer Bee safely back to Kumogakure, I'm supposed to join up with the Raikage and meet back up with Naruto at the handover."

"Wait." Sasuke attempted to calculate the timing of that. "When are you leaving?"

"In a few hours." Sasuke gave a glare that practically burned through both of their masks. Hawk lifted his hands up defensively. "Hey, I just found out half an hour ago myself. And Killer Bee requested me personally." Sasuke could hear the smugness in Hawk's voice as he said, "He likes me."

"You're enjoying this way too much," Sasuke grumbled.

"It'll just be a few weeks at the most. You can survive without me. Just, you know, don't get in trouble while I'm gone and please don't antagonize Naruto."

"Hn," Crow replied noncommittally. It wasn't as if he had trouble planned for the week. Then he remembered. "What's ramen night?"

" _ **NO**_!"

The horror in Hawk's voice put Crow on edge. "Naruto's brat apparently told me I was going."

Sasuke knew he owed the girl for allowing him to stay at the compound and figured that ramen for one dinner night couldn't be too bad.

"What is Ame thinking? You can't go."

"What is it?"

Hawk pulled at the edges of his hair. "Ramen night has been a Uzumaki tradition of sorts and Naruto loves nothing more than inviting unsuspecting guests. To put it simply, it's an eating competition. It's the whole clan versus Naruto and the clan hasn't won a ramen night in years."

"You're telling me that Naruto can eat more bowls of ramen than the whole clan combined?"

"That's the tricky part. There are no rules. Ninjutsu is perfectly acceptable. Things get _intense_. You might snap and kill someone."

"The only one I might snap and kill is Naruto," Sasuke replied frankly.

"Exactly what I'm afraid of."

"I won't go," Sasuke said to assuage his cousin's fears. Now that he knew what it was, it didn't seem like anything he wanted to be a part of.

"That's for the best. I don't know, hang out with Sakura that night or something. The farther you are from the Uzumaki compound that night the better. Please, just keep your distance from Naruto while I'm gone."

"If you die on this stupid mission Naruto has sent you on, I will kill him."

ANBU Hawk gave Sasuke a nervous glance. And right when he was starting to feel comfortable around the guy, he says this kind of shit.

"And burn Konoha to the ground."

"That's unnecessary."

"And smash your stupid tape collection."

"HEY! _I'm coming back._ I swear you better not touch my tape collection!"

Sasuke leaned against the wall and gave a nonchalant reply. "Don't be a day late."

"You have a terrible way of showing that you care about someone," Tomu huffed. "Most people just give hugs. Even a fist bump would suffice."

"Don't be a day late."

Maybe ANBU Hawk will leave a few hours early.

* * *

ANBU Hawk was going to leave a few hours early, until he remembered the yearly Uzumaki-Hyuuga clan picnic which had become a spring tradition. Most of Konoha was outside in some form viewing the cherry blossoms.

With the Hyuuga clan also in attendance, Tomu and Ame made the reasonable decision not to invite Sasuke. Which Sasuke was quite fine with because it meant he had the compound all to himself for a few hours.

The cherry blossoms along the training fields were the most resplendent and served as a constant reminder to the briefness of a ninja's life. For one day out the year, blood and sweat stilled on the training fields. Instead, they attracted civilian and ninja alike to appreciate their finite beauty.

Tomu waited for his moment. He waited until after the barbeque was cooked and Naruto had eaten. He waited until after the game of tag had exhausted everyone. He waited until Naruto stole his glances from Hinata because even though they were in a relatively private area, the younger children didn't know about their relationship and Naruto couldn't risk them blabbing about it in school. Tomu waited until the sun was setting and lit the pink and white boughs of the cherry blossoms in a dance of colors.

Then Tomu approached Naruto and said softly, "Can we talk?"

"I was wondering how long it would take you. I've already gotten a talk from Ame," Naruto said as he lifted Kimi from his lap and placed her onto the picnic blanket. Naruto got up and followed Tomu, allowing him to lead the way. Tomu stopped in the shade of a cherry blossom tree, close enough to keep an eye on the picnic but far enough away to prevent from being overheard.

Tomu leaned against the trunk of the tree and asked, "What does the Hawk mask mean?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a mask."

"Don't bullshit me, Naruto. We've known each far too long for that. I wasn't trying to betray you. If that's how you saw it, I didn't mean it that way."

Naruto dragged a hand through his blonde looks. The shade made his expression seem darker. "I get it. He's your cousin. You're going to take his side."

Tomu gave Naruto a dumbfounded stare. "Yeah, he's my cousin but I've only known the guy for only a few months. I've known you for years. You were there when my mother died. You were there when I activated the sharingan. You were there when I almost went back to drugs. You were there when I had no one else."

Naruto bit his lip and twisted a cherry blossom in his fingers and whispered, "but he's your family."

Tomu couldn't help himself when he pulled Naruto into his arms and into a hug. He knew Naruto was very sensitive and insecure about family, especially after being betrayed by someone he had once thought of as a brother. Naruto placed his forehead against Tomu's shoulder. "I know I'm being stupid," Naruto whispered hoarsely.

"You're my family, Nii-san," Tomu said fiercely. "I'm never going to abandon you. But I can't abandon him either. There are no sides, Naruto. I'm not on his side. I'm not on your side. Sasuke is trying and I wished you would try a little harder to give him a chance."

"All I ever did was give him a chance. Maybe I have no more chances to give," Naruto muttered bitterly.

Tomu gently pulled Naruto away by the shoulders and studied the elder man's face. Tomu gently softened at the realization. "You're terrified."

Naruto hunched his shoulders. He didn't audibly confirm it but the exhaustion that swept over Naruto's face was enough. "Is it because of that clone and what happened in Ame?"

"Partly," Naruto admitted. "To be honest, those memories are just two years out of several thousand that I have lived through my clones. Memories of my real life are more vivid and those of the clones don't last very long. I hardly even remember Ame. What bothers me is that there exists a part of myself that could potentially fall in love with him - to a point where my own shadow clone was defending him even after all of the abuse and the violence. _That_ scares me. There were things my shadow clone endured for the sake of maintaining the cover but there was always an out. That clone stupidly stayed because he saw something in Sasuke and believed Sasuke could be saved. Even when we were kids, I did everything just to earn a little bit of his respect. Then I chased after him for three years and all he ever tried to do was kill me for it, sorry, _save me_ , even though the spot on my chest where that raikiri hit is still understandably doubtful. I can't bend over backwards for him anymore. I can't afford to lose myself again to him. Sasuke is a fire and he'll consume me."

Tomu felt like an ass. It really wasn't fair of him to ask Naruto to accept Sasuke with all that had occurred between them. "I'm not asking for you to extend an olive branch. I just… please stop _intentionally_ antagonizing him."

"I didn't mean to say that about Itachi." Naruto gave an annoyed sigh. "And I know he cares about you. I can see that." Naruto grunted. "I'll try."

"That's all I ask."

"Do you want to change masks?"

"You thought it was funny didn't you?"

Naruto gave a mischievous foxish grin. "Very much so."

Tomu shook his head in exasperation. "Well, I've got a mission to get off to."

Naruto brought Tomu forward into a hug. "Be careful, and don't let Killer Bee convince you into taking any impromptu detours or vacations."

Tomu chuckled in response. That was not happening with his tape collection on the line. "Don't get in a fight with Sasuke and level the entirety of Konoha while I'm gone."

Naruto responded half-playfully half-seriously, "We'll see."

* * *

Sasuke groaned at the incessant knocking at his door. He curled the covers over his head but the noise refused to cease. Sasuke slammed the front door open with all the annoyance and anger of being woken up so early in the morning. Ame tucked her hands behind her back and greeted him with a bright smile. "Ramen night is today."

Sasuke slammed the door in her face.

Sasuke turned back into the house, then stopped when Ame appeared right in front of him. With a grumble, Sasuke reached around for the hiraishin kunai Tomu frequently used and threw it angrily out of the window.

"Get out," he demanded.

"But you said you were going to ramen night."

"No."

Ame slammed her foot down. "But I convinced Dad to let you stay."

"I didn't realize the support of a little girl would lead to a lifetime of blackmail," Sasuke replied flatly.

Offended, Ame held up a finger, "First, I am a kunoichi of Konoha and a fully realized adult in the eyes of the government. I am a _woman_. Second, yes, I will use this as blackmail for the rest of your life. I'll also tell Dad about that time you burned me with a pot."

"I'm going to burn you alive if you don't get out of my house."

"Technically, the Uzumaki own this house," Ame immediately put her hands up in surrender at the intensity of Sasuke's glare. "I just thought after listening to stories about you and Dad from Sakura that you might enjoy ramen night since you and my dad used to compete all the time when you were kids. We haven't beaten dad at ramen night in a year, four months, and twenty-four days. I was hoping that there could finally be someone better than my dad but I guess it's okay for someone to always be second-best. I certainly don't like losing but if that's you're thing then I guess its fine but-"

"I know what you're doing."

Ame gave a mischievous grin. "Is it working?"

Sasuke crossed his arms. Beating Naruto at his own ramen night would be satisfying. He knew it was a bad idea but when did he ever turn down a challenge? "You're annoying."

"Great!" Ame exclaimed as she snatched Sasuke's hand and dragged him out of the house. Sasuke's eyes widened at the insanity of what greeted him outside. The bathhouse was surrounded by large pots. The training fields were decorated by long strips of noodles hanging like blanket between wooden poles.

"Before we have ramen night, we have to make the ramen. There are quite a few stations. Over there we cut the wheat noodles. Battering the dough is one of the most popular stations. We cut the pork over there. We chop the green onions and kamaboko in the main house. The younger ones are boiling the eggs but usually we end up with just as many cracked eggs."

Ame pulled him over to a long line of huge pots. Crates were used as stairs so children could stir the mixture inside the giant cauldrons. "Your job is to make sure the fire maintains the right temperature and stays burning on all the pots. Usually Tomu does this job, but since he's gone… you're good with fire right?"

"You could say that," Sasuke responded underhandedly. And that was how the best fire user in all of Fire Country found himself maintaining the cooking fires for ramen night. Sasuke breathed gentle soft puffs of breath across the burning wood.

It was the first time Sasuke found himself at the chaotic center of the Uzumaki Clan. Usually, he attempted to avoid the children as much as possible. Luckily, they all seemed largely focused on their individual tasks to pay him any mind.

He had spotted Naruto with the toddlers jumping up and down on a batter of dough, and thankfully hadn't seemed to notice Sasuke just yet. The rest of the children didn't need much direction and it was obvious from their movements that they did this often. They were working together, having fun, joking, and teasing each other like a family – a large family of orphans. If Sasuke looked close enough, he could see the darkness hovering at the edges of a few eyes. But every smile and every laugh distanced that darkness further and further away. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had been put in a place like this instead of rotting around his family's bones. Would his darkness eventually have been drowned out by light?

He'd never know.

And Sasuke suddenly hoped that Naruto could help these kids. This orphanage was a good thing and a much needed piece Konoha has always been missing. Naruto was doing right. Although, opening an orphanage on Uchiha clan grounds was still questionable to Sasuke. Seriously, it couldn't be anywhere else?

At least it was nice to hear a child's laughter in the Uchiha compound again.

After a few minutes, one of the kids with deep brown hair sat down at his side and began to watch him. It was a little eerie to have an observer but as long as the child was quiet, Sasuke could endure it. Sasuke increased the heat to one dying flame, turned to see the brown-haired boy eating a silver spoon, Sasuke looked back at his work, and then whipped around in sudden realization.

Sasuke snatched the half-eaten spoon out of the boy's hand. Only the grip was left, with teeth bits gnawed down to the handle. A cry joined the already high volume noise of a bustling Uzumaki compound. Sasuke's eye twitched, then he snatched the boy's face forward and forced his mouth open to find that the spoon was already chewed and swallowed.

Should he tell Naruto?! Does the kid need to go to the hospital?!

Sasuke stilled when several kids were laughing at him. Two pink-haired twin boys, Sai and Sasuke (It was rather easy to remember their names) looked over the mouth of a cauldron and grinned. "Zhou likes metal."

"Mom thinks it's some sort of kekkai genkai or something," the other twin considered.

Sasuke dropped the boy in extreme annoyance. Stupid kid almost gave him a heart attack. This was why he didn't like to be around them in the first place. (Even though once Itachi was drafted into ANBU, he was often forced into babysitting clan toddlers in Itachi's absence. There was a time when Sasuke prided himself on being the best babysitter in the world.)

Zhou snatched the rest of the metal end of the spoon from Sasuke's hand and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. It hurt to watch the kid eat that.

"You should have seen dad the first time he did that," Ame said as she approached them both with none of the amusement that the other kids had. "Dad had almost heart attack."

Sasuke had the feeling that the reason why Ame wasn't laughing along with the others was because she had been there. She crouched down and pulled Zhou into her lap. "We _hope_ it's some kekkai genkai."

Ame held out a sheet of paper and Sasuke took a copy of the seating arrangement for tonight's dinner. Ame eyed Sasuke seriously, as if ramen was a matter of life and death. "We need to go over tonight's plan of attack. There are four different divisions. One group is the eaters. They eat the ramen and focus on gathering points. Every empty bowl is a point. The second group is the defenders. They defend the eaters from whatever nefarious plans dad might have up his sleeve. The third group is the attack squad. They neutralize dad's shadow clones. This is our largest group. The fourth group is point. This group directly attacks dad and prevents him from gaining any points."

Sasuke blinked and belatedly wondered if this whole thing was some sort of pre-war training. If so, Naruto was a mad genius.

Ame looked at Sasuke thoughtfully. "You don't look like you can hold much ramen so eating probably isn't your thing."

"I'll take point," Sasuke said decisively.

"Are you sure? The shadow clones that Dad deploys are fairly weak. There will be a lot of them but going after Dad directly is a tough job. He's not easy to keep down."

"I've got it."

"And of course, this means you can actually punch him and it's all a part of the game. He can't get mad at you for it." Sasuke nodded. He hated to admit it, but he was beginning to look forward to ramen night.

Ame gave Sasuke a cheeky grin. "See you at dinner."

* * *

When Sasuke saw kids wearing ninja vests to dinner, he began to wonder if he should have worn his. But when he spotted Naruto wearing nothing but a casual shirt and pants, he was glad he didn't decide to go to such extremes. Dinner was almost set up when Sasuke finally arrived out in the big courtyard at the center of the compound. There were shadow clones wearing loud orange shirts. Those, Ame had told him, were not participating in the games but only served to replace empty ramen bowls.

Naruto, and several of Naruto clones who were setting the table, all swiveled their heads in Sasuke's direction at the same time.

Ame jumped up from her seat. "I'm so glad you could make it. Your seat is over here." Ame literally bounded over, dragged Sasuke by the arm, and placed him down into the chair at the edge of the table, right next to Naruto.

The kids began to crowd around the table. The eaters, the first group, were all gathered in one position on the opposite end. The defenders closer to them, and the neutralizers in the middle. The seating was very strategic. The only other person on point team besides him and Ame was Ichigo. He had no idea how that worked since Ichigo wasn't a ninja. According to Tomu, the kid never went to the Academy which is why he was always hanging around the compound.

Naruto was sitting at the head and gave both him and Ame flat stares. He spoke in a civil tone, unwilling to ruin ramen night for the rest of the kids who barely registered Sasuke's presence as anything special since Naruto invited guests all the time. "You don't have to do this."

Sasuke leaned forward and smugly replied, "Afraid to lose? Scared now that you're up against more than just toddlers and teenagers?"

"I can't believe my daughter got you roped up into this. It's just dinner, Sasuke," Naruto said lazily, as lazy as if he was sitting at any dinner table. As if it was no big deal.

Naruto turned to Ame. "Is this the reason why you wanted him to stay? For ramen night? That's rather nefarious of you."

"I learned from the best," Ame said smugly. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if Ame really did petition him to stay just for this event because it was obvious she took ramen night extremely serious, to almost frightening proportions.

"That's alright," Naruto said coolly. "I already anticipated that you were going to invite him. So I invited my own guest."

"Huh?"

Naruto motioned to the main house. Sasuke drew his eyebrows together in confusion when another young girl, around Ame's age shuffled nervously forward. By the look of her, she seemed to be a Houzuki.

" _Dad!_ " Ame moaned in horror and watched as Mizuka sat down at the table in the seat across from Ame. Mizuka looked at the Hokage nervously before mouthing to Ame, 'Does he know?'

Naruto gave Ame an innocent look. "I thought you would love to have one of your Academy friends over for dinner."

"Dad! Have you explained any of the rules or-"

Naruto stood up in his chair and announced, "Everyone looks hungry!" There were cheers and boos from around the table. The shadow clones chuckled. "Dinner starts in three," The eaters hunched over their bowls, "Two," The defenders stood wary. "One." The neutralizers tensed. "Go!"

Sasuke lunged to make some kind of attack. He never moved. Ame was thrown down the table like a bowling ball knocking the defenders over. Mizuka watched everything unfold in confused horror. What kind of dinner was this?! She melted into a puddle in the seat of her chair. All the while, Naruto made hundreds of shadow clones and tossed back five bowls of ramen. The shadow clones reached for more bowls but the neutralizers sprung into action. Ramen went flying. Globs of it slapped into Sasuke's face and hair.

Ichigo leaned forward into Sasuke's face and studied him for several moments. "Ame, dad carved a paralyzing seal on his chair."

Ame slapped herself in the face, looked over her shoulder at the smug grin on Naruto's face, and immediately went to work breaking the seal on the back of Sasuke's chair. Ame cursed under her breath as she complained, "This isn't fair. There are like three seals slapped together and you did one in reverse! This is going to take me forever!"

Five minutes later, Ame was still working on the seal and Naruto had finished hundreds of bowls. The other kids weren't doing that well either. Defenders were trying to defeat the Naruto shadows clones tickling the eaters to death. It was a disaster.

Ichigo tapped Ame's shoulder and handed her a piece of paper.

Ame looked at it. "Oh hey, that's dad's blueprints for the seal. Great job Ichigo. I should have thought to check the workshop sooner."

The seal was undone in seconds.

Before Naruto could stuff his face with another portion of ramen, Sasuke was up out of his seat and had tackled Naruto to the ground. Naruto kicked against Sasuke as they rolled once on the ground, Sasuke flipped up and caught himself on his feet.

Naruto and Sasuke circled each other, carefully watching each other's movements. It was the first time since Sasuke returned to Konoha that they weren't fighting out of anger, but for a goal, out of competition. Suddenly, it was as if they were kids again.

It was a familiar dance and the blue of Naruto's eyes lit up with wild excitement. As they traded kicks and punches for several treasure seconds, ramen night didn't exist. No one else in the world existed but the two of them. Sasuke grew excited at every modification of Naruto's technique and felt a rush of adrenaline at every new thing he discovered.

Naruto has finally balanced his explosive offense with a more careful defense. Because of his blind years, Sasuke had no choice but to modify his graceful and perfect taijutsu with sometimes wild and unpredictable attacks to catch his opponent off guard. If they're dance as children were sometimes clumsy, they were masters at it now.

Then, Ichigo pulled Naruto's pants down.

Naruto tripped over his own two feet. Ame dropped down and slapped a piece of paper on Naruto's back, leaving an ink imprint of the seal Naruto had just used on Sasuke's chair. Ame activated the seal and Naruto went straight as a board.

It startled Sasuke at first to remember there was a world outside of he and Naruto.

Ame stepped on her father's back and gave a great toss of her head to laughter. She crowed her victory.

Until Ame was knocked from her pedestal by a ball of ramen noodles that slapped into her face. The shadow clone that had attacked Ame immediately began working on the seal that had been placed on the original. Sasuke rushed forward and with ease dispatched the shadow clone.

Sasuke turned and reached out his hand. Ame grasped it and was pull to her feet. Ame and Sasuke's eyes met with acknowledgement before rushing forward to confront the shadow clones head-on in an impressive display of jutsu.

Ichigo kicked his legs and savored him bowl of ramen from the dinner table. Mizuke peaked her head over the table and wondered if it was over. Instead, she spotted the Hokage face-first into the grass without his pants and cartoonish frogs decorating his boxers. She exploded in a splash of embarrassment.

The eaters ate and stacked up bowls. It didn't take long for Sasuke and Ame to help the neutralizers finish off the shadow clones. Sasuke was rather impressed by the level of skill that some of the kids displayed and considered that this was a better exercise than any of the battle simulation training at the academy. And it was fun.

Soon all that was left of the other team was Naruto stuck straight as a wooden board and his pants down to his knees.

As the hour ended, everyone began to chant, "Three, two, one, end!"

A rise of cheers went up through the air. Sasuke flinched when Ame tackled him into a hug. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do here. Thankfully, she let him go promptly with wide red sparkling eyes.

Then she slapped herself in the face. "I forgot about Mizu-chan!"

Ame immediately rushed to go check on her girlfriend and make sure she survived ramen night unscathed.

"Wait, what about Naruto?" Sasuke couldn't help but to ask as everyone around him began to clean up. Ichigo shoved a pile of bowls into Sasuke's hands.

Ame looked over her shoulder, gave a mischievous smile of which Sauske never wanted to be on the receiving end of, and then cackled, "I'll get him in the morning."

* * *

"Your pants are back on."

"Yeah, well, Ichigo helped me out with that. But unfortunately, my daughter is the only one who can undo the seal so here I still am." Naruto glanced up at Sasuke. Judging by the bubbles suds still clinging to Sasuke's arm, the man had just snuck away from cleaning duty. Naruto couldn't blame him. Without Naruto there to supervise, more dishes tended to get broken than washed.

"Orochimaru might be able to undo the seal."

Naruto gave Sasuke a twisted expression, full of conflicted emotions, and unable to read what Sasuke meant by that statement. Given up trying to understand Sasuke a long time ago, Naruto pressed his cheek tiredly against the grass. "What do you mean?"

"Orochimaru is still in Konoha. You as undefended as you are now is unsafe."

Naruto sighed. "Go to bed Sasuke. I don't need you hovering over me all night."

Because Sasuke never did what he told him to do, Naruto was not surprised when Sasuke sat down and leaned against a tree. Sasuke watched Naruto press his head down against the grass. It was rather obvious he was pretending to be more annoyed with the situation than he actually was. Naruto breathed in a relaxed sigh and rested in the field of flowers and grass.

This was the perfect time for Sasuke to say everything he wanted to say. Naruto couldn't go anywhere. The only thing he could do was listen and respond. But fists were easy. Words were hard. In the end, the only words that stumbled out of Sasuke's mouth were, "We should spar more often."

"No."

What? It could not have been just Sasuke. Fighting was the only time anything ever made sense between them. There was none of their fucked up history – just adrenaline and movement and the fight. Not even Naruto could deny the perfect moment that had occurred between them during ramen night. In a confused and hurt voice, Sasuke said, "I don't understand."

Naruto would have combed his hands through his hands, but he couldn't. "Sasuke, fighting has never solved anything between us. A thousand punches do not equal forgiveness. I could never beat you into seeing things my way, nor can you do the same. You can't force people to chance if they don't want to."

"None of that matters during the fight."

"It does matter, Sasuke, it does." Naruto voice took on an angrier tone. "Because in the end, after we're done pummeling each other in the ground, you're still going to do whatever the fuck you what to do. You're still going to walk away to Orochimaru, you're still going to hate the village, you're still going to stay in my compound when I expressly told you to leave. We fight and nothing changes." Naruto sighed deeply. He promised Tomu he would try. "Sasuke… I enjoyed tonight. But we shouldn't spar again."

"I…" Sasuke turned away, disappointed. "Okay."

He hated to prove Naruto's point but he wasn't leaving the compound.

Sasuke picked up fallen cherry blossom between his fingers. The Uchiha compound could never boast the title of most beautiful compound, those were traditionally contested between the Hyuuga and Yamanaka. But Sasuke enjoyed the cherry blossoms that lined the pathway, circled the training grounds, cupped the buildings, and shaded his father as he puffed a pipe of tobacco.

Now, they were growing a little bit wilder throughout the compound. Patches of flowers has sprung up in the most random of places. There was a house in the back where a cherry blossom tree had permanently moved in, growing up through the wood and waving its boughs through the windows. The tulips bowed against the wind and brushed over Naruto's back. It was as if Naruto could never bring himself to tell the flowers what to do and let them grow as wild, as strong, and whatever direction they wanted to go. Like the kids.

"Naruto, what you're doing here with the kids, it's good."

Naruto gave Sasuke a surprised expression, studied the nervous twiddling of the cherry blossom, and accepted the unexpected compliment. "Thanks."

* * *

Sasuke grumbled over the kunai he had just forged. It was heavier, duller, and hardly better than the factory made ones. He tossed it over his shoulder to the rather large discard pile that had been building over the past week. Eventually he'll melt the metal and reuse the materials. When Sasuke reached for more materials to try again, the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder began to burn.

The Cloud handover was happening now.

Sasuke dropped his tools and went to get dressed. Within moments, he had the Crow mask fitted over his face. He rendezvoused at Gate B of the Forest of Death. Naruto was already waiting, Kage hat and cloak marking the significance of the occasion.

"Slow?" Naruto irked a smug eyebrow.

Sasuke was the first one here. But before Sasuke could reply several other ANBU appeared in the clearing. He immediately recognized them as the ANBU contingent escorting the Hokage and the Cloud ninja to the meeting place with the Raikage. Captain Snake walked out of the shadows, which extremely unnerved Sasuke. She must have been there this entire time.

Ignoring the Hokage, Sasuke turned at the first sound of footsteps approaching the gate. He had to memorize the long list of ninja and their family and burn the scroll soon afterwards. It was yet another occasion he wished he had the sharingan to help him memorize everything in seconds. But Sauske was determined not to fail, especially with the Hokage watching over his shoulder. He mentally checked off their faces as everyone began to gather at the gate.

It was literally raining cherry blossoms as they waited for everyone to arrive. The roads of Konoha were covered in the soft pink petals and catching a few in your clothes were inevitable. Most of the Cloud ninja who had arrived were carrying a little bit of Konoha spring back to Cloud Country.

"Nine minutes," Captain Snake reported.

Sasuke checked his mental list once more time and immediately reported, "One missing."

Sasuke felt the small pressure of chakra the Captain suddenly exerted and she stared off towards Konoha. Captain Snake ordered, "Crow, retrieve our last man. Throw him over your shoulder if you have to."

Crow set off across the rooftops with the memorized addresses in his head. Only belatedly, Crow realized Captain Snake was a Hyuuga, one who could activate the byakugan without hand seals. It didn't take a large leap of logic to figure out who she was.

Sasuke landed atop a fire escape. He was growing concerned with all the reasons that they could be late. Had someone figured it out? Was someone trying to sabotage the handover? Sasuke crashed through the window with sword drawn.

He was greeted by the sight of ANBU Beetle beating a fist on the bathroom door. "We have to go now!"

"I just," groan, "need another minute," came the voice from the other side of the door.

Sasuke couldn't see the desperation through the fellow ANBU's mask but he could see it in the man's body language when Beetle turned to Crow. "Please don't tell me I'm in trouble over a bad case of diarrhea."

Crow kicked down the door and thank Kami for these masks to help muffle the smell. Even with them, it smelled like old aunt Shira when she got a plate full of beans. And pity the person who had to go deliver the toilet paper when she ran out.

The Cloud ninja grunted from the toilet, turned to find Crow in the middle of his bathroom and whined, "Can't a guy shit in peace? Why did it have to happen now?!"

Sasuke was not prepared for this. He reacted on instinct whenever he was in a tough situation. He knocked the man out.

"Great idea tough guy," Beetle said. "Are you going to put his pants on too?"

No way in hell.

With a little of genjutsu, Sasuke "convinced" Beetle to help the man put on his pants. Despite the little bit of deception, Sasuke didn't have the heart to also fool the ANBU into wiping someone else's butt. The Cloud ninja was just going to have to be uncomfortable for the rest of the trip.

Beetle carried the cloud ninja who, even though unconscious, kept farting the entire way to the gate. Sasuke made it back to the front gate before the ten minutes had ended but needed to step to the side to get a breath of clean air.

"Seriously?" Naruto asked once he saw the man slumped over Beetle's arm.

"It was just a hit to the head," Sasuke argued stubbornly. Then Naruto's nose crunched when Beetle passed the man off to one of the ANBU accompanying the Hokage. Sasuke suggested, "If you want to wipe his ass be my guest."

"Seriously?" This time Naruto turned to Captain Snake. "We could have at least finished letting the guy take a shit."

Captain Snake simply replied, "Hokage-sama, time is of the essence. We need to go."

"Fine," Naruto spat out but spared a pitying glance over at the struggling Cloud ninja. The brown stain in his pants was obvious to anyone who looked in that direction. "Let's head out."

Naruto turned to leave. It felt wrong. Sasuke should be the one to go instead of the one left behind at the gate. He should be there backing Naruto up in case things went wrong.

"Naruto." Sasuke grabbed the Hokage's arm.

Every ANBU tensed and an awkward silence filled the air as everyone stared at Crow. He had said the Hokage's name instead of referring to him as 'Hokage-sama'. He had grabbed the Kage roughly instead of bowing at his feet. While the ANBU looked on edge, Naruto looked at Crow with confusion and impatience.

"Yeah?" Naruto finally broke the silence. Crow had to say something.

"Be careful," Crow mumbled pathetically.

Naruto blinked and after thoughtful consideration, Naruto whispered in return, "Take care of Konoha."

Crow let go of his sleeve and the Hokage left him behind.

With a deep and irritated sigh at himself, Sasuke moped off toward his assigned section for phase II. In passing, ANBU Crane gave him a nod of acknowledgment. Sasuke grunted in reply and took up his guard of the Uchiha-Uzumaki compound. Hopefully with all of the planning, even Orochimaru would be none the wiser that this night was any different than any other night.

Sasuke patrolled around the compound. Even though he knew Crane had the byakugan, Sasuke needed to move. He was restless. He shuffled through the roads of fallen flower petals. No one knew that Naruto had locked away the Kyuubi. It was as if Naruto's life as the Hokage was one giant bluff and it wouldn't take much for someone to one day call him out on it. It could happen tonight, while he was here, stuck behind the gates of Konoha.

Naruto was gone. There was no one here to activate the seal on his shoulder. He could leave. He could make sure both Naruto and Tomu were safe. Crane could take care of the compound if something happened. The only thing that kept him rooted to the ground in indecision was Captain Snake. She would see him coming a mile away. Naruto would be angry, and at this point Sasuke had come to accept it as a constant state between them, but he knew Tomu would be livid that he had left the compound defenseless while Orochimaru may or may not still be in the village.

Sasuke groaned with indecision. He was not used to indecision. Usually, he knew exactly what he wanted and went after it. But now, it felt as if he was being pulled in many directions at once.

Static quirked in his ear. "The Hokage has returned to Konoha. It was a good quiet night, everyone. You are dismissed except for those on their regularly scheduled rounds."

Sasuke blinked. It was over? Dawn was beginning to creek over the gates of the compound. Had he really fretted and stressed himself out for hours?

Sasuke walked, jogged, rushed to the main house of the compound. He entered the house just as Tomu hiraishined atop the couch. Tomu looked up as Crow peered down over him. Tomu mumbled, "No masks in the house," before turning into the pillow exhausted.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked as he placed the ANBU mask on one of the desks. Sasuke knew Tomu enough by now that the kid should be bouncing off his toes excited from spending an entire road trip with his favorite person in the world. "And where is Naruto?"

"At the office," Tomu sighed. "The wife of one of the Cloud ninja tried to suicide bomb everyone. Captain Snake caught her in time but… we were this close to an international incident. I'm just tired."

"What do you know about the wife? Any connections to the Akimichi?"

"Not that I know of. All I know is that she was supposed to go to Cloud with her husband. She was a leaf kunoichi who had been married to him for two years. Regardless, it's only a matter of time because Ino has got her tonight."

Sasuke knew from experience that Ino could handle it.

Sasuke walked around the couch and sat in the small space Tomu's body left in the couch. "How was your road trip with Killer Bee?"

Immediately, Tomu lifted his head out the pillow and lit up with excitement, the way it was supposed to be. "It was amazing. When we got to Cloud he took me to his studio in Kumo and gave me originals to all his classic records."

Tomu scrambled in his pocket for the scroll.

Honestly, Sasuke couldn't have cared less but he leaned into the couch and listened to the excited pitch in Tomu's voice. Tomu was home. Tomu was safe and happy. A sense of contentment settled in Sasuke's chest after a long night.

Half an hour later, Naruto crossed in front of the living room. Naruto stopped to stare at the two of them and then said, "Tomu."

Tomu turned, plastic rattling at the shift of cassettes. "Ino finished with her yet?"

Naruto fixed Tomu with an indecipherable stare and then said, "She was found dead in her cell before Ino could get to her. She used one of those cyanide pills."

"How? The Hyuuga checked her."

"I don't know. Someone could have given her one after we got to Konoha. Captain Snake immediately delivered her to T&I. There were ANBU bodyguards. Within the five minutes it took for Ino to arrive to T&I, the kunoichi was dead."

"Naruto, this has to be an inside job. Someone in Konoha tried to sabotage the handover."

Sasuke highly doubted it was Orochimaru. The Sannin had been a terrible Otokage because he hated politics. He would rather do his research than play the political game. Crow couldn't imagine how Orochimaru would benefit from sabotaging the handover or _care_.

"I know." Naruto sighed with an exhaustion that was becoming all too common on Naruto's face. "I'm going to go check on the kids and then spend the rest of the night with Hinata. We'll talk about this in morning."

Tomu nodded. "Night, Nii-san."

"Good night, Tomu." Naruto glanced at Sasuke with a nod of acknowledgement and walked further down the hallway.

Sasuke clenched his teeth, tapped his foot against the carpeted floor, and then jolted up from the couch. Tomu caught Sasuke by the arm. "Sasuke, please, not tonight."

Sasuke pulled his sleeve from Tomu's grip. Tomu groaned into the pillow. Sasuke caught up to Naruto in the hallway. Naruto's expression was of a person who has had a bad day and wasn't surprised it had just gotten worse.

"I was thinking you should put me on more missions outside of Konoha. I should have been able to accompany Tomu to Cloud Country or gone with you to the handover."

Naruto stared at Sasuke dumbfounded, like listening to the ravings of a lunatic, "What part of, 'you're sentenced for the rest of your life to Konoha' did you not understand?"

Sasuke scoffed back, surely he was joking. "I'm an S-class ninja. I'm an asset. To keep me confined in Konoha for the rest of my life would be idiotic."

This was certainly a bluff. He had never really taken those words Naruto had said seriously. He figured after a few years of doing good, he'll finally be able to go on missions outside of Konoha. What Tomu did inside of Konoha was important but Sasuke's skills would be more effective in other capacities.

"Sasuke, it was your decision to become a missing-nin. If you ever leave Konoha, you're not coming back," Naruto said just as stubbornly. "Because you know what Sasuke? Sometimes we make decisions and there is no other choice but to live with the _consequences_. By all rights you're supposed to be dead or rotting in jail. This is a mercy."

"A mercy?!" Sasuke snapped. Naruto made it sound like as if he should grateful that he no longer had the freedom to go where he wanted. That he should be grateful that he couldn't watch over his cousin and protect him from trouble. Sasuke clenched his fists tightly and attempted to bite down on his anger. He would not lose his temper. He would have a normal conversation with Naruto.

"There was a bomb Naruto. What if something had happened to the two of you? I was not there."

"Nothing happened to us. It was handled."

Sasuke broke. He couldn't go another night like tonight, constantly worrying and stressing and insanity solely creeping through his skin. " _I can't live with myself if something happens to you._ "

Naruto groaned as he pressed the palm of his hands against his eyes. "That's none of your concern. Fuck, Sasuke, why can't you let this go?"

"Because you're my best friend."

"We're not friends! You were the one to sever that!"

"I take it all back!"

"You can't take it back!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Naruto turned and clenched his eyes shut. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Sasuke, why can't you just leave me the fuck alone! I don't want to deal with you and your shit right now! I'm tired and I'm exhausted and it's been a long damn day! I just want to go to sleep!"

Sasuke took a step back at the volume of Naruto's anger and desperation. Sasuke clenched his jaw and gave Naruto a second to calm down. Then he asked, "Are you going to let me accompany you outside of Konoha?"

"NO!" Naruto bellowed, and with that, he hiraishined away.

Sasuke turned to Tomu who had been staring out into the hallway. Sasuke had kept a hold of his anger. Sasuke was as honest as he's ever been. What had he done wrong?!

* * *

Naruto was actively avoiding him. That much was obvious whenever Sasuke would attempt to sidle his way to the main house with some half-assed excuse to be there. But whenever he would catch a glimpse of Naruto or a clone, Naruto would hiraishin away or the clone would dismiss itself. Sasuke admitted he had a one track mind sometimes and without anything to really occupy his time, Sasuke has attempted to find all manner of ways to fix this mess between him and Naruto. Maybe his words needed to be exactly right. Maybe his tone shouldn't be so flat.

_He was driving himself insane._

Then the solution hit him in the face like the force of a rasengan. He's known what he has to do. Naruto has practically told him what he had to do.

He's just been too stubborn to see it.

* * *

Sasuke stared, empty and hollow, at the darkness of Tomu's old apartment. He shuffled his shoes off and stepped inside. He placed a box full of items on top of the kitchen table. Sasuke placed two picture frames on the bookshelf. They were old and faded at the edges. One was a black and white picture of one of his uncles' wedding. The whole clan was in it. He wasn't born yet, but a pregnant bump in his mother's bridal dress. The other photograph was a sepia-toned picture of a cousin taking a selfie with her boyfriend, but in the background, unaware the picture was being taken, was Itachi sitting on the porch holding a baby in his arms. It was the only picture he had found with both him and Itachi in it. He had thought he had destroyed them all years ago, but he had missed this one.

Sasuke folded the shirts stitched with the Uchiha clan seal into the drawer of the bedroom. He placed his mother's tea set into the kitchen. He placed his aunt's cookbook onto the bookshelf. He shifted the ugly figurines of a neko cat, for some reason his grandmother liked to collect them, atop the coffee table.

"I think you're making the right decision," Tomu said carefully.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted as he sat on the couch and curled his legs against his chest. "I'd like to be alone."

"Okay, just know, I'm always here," Tomu promised and exited the apartment.

Sasuke rested his head against the couch cushions. Even from the couch he could view the dying cherry blossoms floating by the window. They never lasted for very long. By this time tomorrow, there would probably be only a few left clinging to the branches.

With a soft curse, Sasuke was jolted out of sleep by a knock on his door. Sasuke glared at it and willed whomever was pestering him to go away.

"Sasuke?"

It was Naruto. Sasuke pulled himself off the couch and reluctantly walked to the door. What did he want? To gloat in his face how he had won? To be refused and rejected again?

A part of Sasuke didn't want to even open the door. But that part was spite, the rest of him was just tired. Sasuke opened the door to Naruto standing in the hallway. Naruto tucked his hands into his pocket. There was no hat or cloak so this wasn't official business.

"May I come in?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a wary glance but stepped to the side. Naruto used one foot to take off one shoe and did the same to the other. Naruto walked into the apartment, reached to his belt, and placed a scroll onto the kitchen table.

Naruto's attention was soon distracted by the cat figurines on the tea table. "I remember those things. I think I packed them into the boxes in the storage house. Kind of creepy if you ask me."

"They were my grandmother's. She was creepy."

Naruto nodded. Naruto anchored his hand on the kitchen table and turned to Sasuke. "Tomu told me a few hours ago that you decided to move out. I never thought you would and I don't know why you made the decision-"

"Because you told me to," Sasuke interrupted. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I…" Naruto glanced over at the picture frames on the bookshelf. "I know this could not have been easy for you. Thank you."

"Hn."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Naruto slapped his hand atop the table. "Anyways, I was thinking about the forge and how much effort you've been putting into it. You're free to visit the compound and continue working on it if you want."

"I'm still welcomed to come by?" Sasuke asked confused.

"Well, yeah, Sasuke. I'm not going to forbid you from coming by your ancestral land. I'm not cruel. I just… you staying there is too close." Naruto pulled his face up into a grimace. "When I've had a shit day I simply don't want to come home to your face."

Naruto turned back to the scroll on the table. He summoned the contents.

Sasuke's eyes caught the hilt first, and then the broken shards of metal. Sasuke tread forward carefully in case his eyes were deceiving him. It was Kusanagi, in the same pieces that he had abandoned it.

"How?"

"The hunter-nin trailing you picked it up." Naruto dragged a hand through his hair. "Since you've got the forge working again, I figured if anyone could figure out how to put it back together it'd be you. And it might be useful against Orochimaru. I don't know."

Sasuke knew first-hand the process of mending a broken sword. It was often a difficult and expensive undertaking. It took time, effort, and the right tools. It took the right amount of heat and the right amount of pressure. It was a process that could possibly take years to gather all the right materials and had no guarantee of success. For many a blacksmith, it saved a lot of time and effort to simply make a new one.

He knew fixing Kusanagi could take a lifetime of work. But against all those odds, Sasuke felt hope blossom in his chest. That impenetrable ice between he and Naruto finally felt as if it was thawing, incrementally, perhaps, but it was springtime in Konoha.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a mixture of conviction, determination, and sheer force of will.

"I'm going to fix this Naruto. I promise."

* * *

**x**

* * *

**_A thousand punches do not equal forgiveness._ **

* * *

 

 


	14. The Weight of Names

ANBU Hawk scrutinized the sterilized private room in the ANBU underground. It had a whiteboard, several desks, and all the materials he could potentially need. The room was also completely sealed from the outside and only accessible by a hiraishin kunai. "It'll do."

The Hokage nodded. "If you think the Akimichi are behind these recent incidents I trust your instincts but we need proof before we can bring any claims to the council. This will be your base of operations for your investigation into the Akimichi clan."

"I understand," Hawk replied.

The Hokage crossed his arm and eyed his subordinate seriously. "This can't be an official operation. It has to be completely off books. If the Akimichi find out I'm investigating them it will be hell, and not just from the Akimichi. Every other clan in Konoha will feel threatened and betrayed, especially if they perceive the investigation to be unfounded. Trust no one. Assume that every institution in Konoha is compromised. You will need to do this operation alongside your other job without raising any suspicion. Quite frankly, this is probably one of the most delicate missions I've ever handed to anyone besides the Kiri Op years ago. You can't mess up."

"I won't. I promise."

"Since you're the leader of this thing, I'll leave it to you to choose the operatives you want on this investigation. But I don't need to tell you that the less people on this the better. And only people you can absolutely trust."

"Crow?"

Naruto waved his hand. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that. If you think you can…" Naruto flailed his hands around to find a word to accurately portray Sasuke. A fire – warm at times but had to make sure it didn't burn everything around it. Naruto sighed. "If you think you can _contain_ him."

"Don't know if that's possible," Hawk muttered and then asked, "ANBU Crane?"

Naruto frowned and ran the logistics in his head. "I prefer him in infiltration but I won't send him out unless I really need him. Crane can be on this in the meantime."

"For right now I'm going to keep it to a three-man team. I'll let you know if I need anything else."

Naruto nodded. "Just be careful and don't work yourself to death. I know you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." ANBU Hawk nodded, hardly listening. He waved off the Hokage and pulled up his sleeves. "I've got work to do."

* * *

Two days later, both ANBU Crane and ANBU Crow shared exasperated stares. This certainly explained why Sasuke hasn't seen Tomu in the past two days. The vast amount of work Tomu had already done for the operation could be seen all throughout the room.

ANBU Hawk pointed to one board filled with pictures of the entire Akimichi clan. "This board shows the medical data I've gotten from Sakura. I've sorted it by familial relations so its organized into a family tree. It gets a little complicated with divorces and bastards but there are sticky notes beside the exceptions."

Hawk pointed to another board on the far right. "And this is where I'm attempting to sort by influence and power, who takes orders from who, etc. Unlike other clans, there are two heads in the Akimichi clan – the ninja head and the business head."

A picture of Chouji was at the top of the pyramid as the ninja head. A picture of an elder Akimichi woman was at the top of the pyramid as the business head. There were a few pictures and names filled out on the bottom rung, but almost none in the middle.

"Have you eaten?" Crane asked.

"What?"

Crane turned to Sasuke. "Dumplings?"

Sasuke nodded his consent. Crane disappeared with the hiraishin kunai soon after. Hawk huffed and crossed him arms. Sasuke glared. "You said you were leaving on a mission."

It was the only reason Sasuke hadn't been looking for him the past two days.

"I am on a mission. I just had to get all of this straightened out before I could bring you in on it," Hawk said annoyed, but suddenly mellowed when Crane reappeared with takeout. Hawk gave in, stuffed a dumpling in his mouth and then continued to explain his boards. "Most of the information on this board I only know from experience and the contacts I have on the streets. They rarely show themselves and typically delegate their jobs to underlings. Let me introduce Chijori and Taisuke Akimichi, overseer of Konoha's drug dens. Yasuyuki and Rikya Akimichi, overseers of Konoha's Red Lights District. Tsukada and Shintaro Akimichi, overseers of their protection racketeering business. Iwao and Tessai Akimichi, overseers of their smuggling operations of both products and persons. Chiro, Taisho, and Akio Akimichi, overseers of their legitimate businesses which include about forty percent of all privately owned businesses in Konoha."

"Do those statistics include the privately owned businesses of the other clans?" Sasuke asked. The Yamanaka had their flower shop. The Nara had their herbs and traditional medicines. The Inuzuka has their veterinarian business. Clans often specialized in certain sectors of Konoha.

Hawk nodded. "Clans own about seventy percent of all privately owned businesses in Konoha."

And one clan owned forty percent of that chunk. That was insane. "They own just about half of Konoha," Sasuke said in realization. The more he learned about the Akimichi, the more unsettled he became. "I haven't been in Konoha for a while but I was acquainted with Chouji as a genin. Quite frankly, he doesn't seem the kind of guy to be capable of all this."

"Honestly, I'm not sure that Chouji is involved. He is the ninja head, which is completely different from our traditional idea of a Clan Head. Chouji's duties involve deciding which kids go to the academy, making sure the clan gets ninja contracts, attending council meetings, and generally making sure everything on the ninja end is running smoothly. He actually has no say in the business side of things. That's just how the Akimichi do things. If I'm to guess, whomever is targeting Naruto is on the business side. Maybe it's," Hawk pointed to his board, "whomever these guys are answering to, or who their boss answers to, or even the business head. That's what we need to figure out."

"Alright, so what are we going to do?" Sasuke asked.

"Right now we're kind of stabbing in the dark but since the mist ninja who tried to assassinate the Hokage was given drugs I think we should investigate Chijori and Taisuke first. We'll shadow them for a week and see if we can find anything."

"And when you saw 'we' you mean me?" Crane clarified. "It's too dangerous for you or Crow to do it. I can watch them from a distance but there is only one of me. To shadow all of these people effectively will take time."

Sasuke nodded in an agreement. "While Crane is watching people, we still should be coming at this from another angle."

"Naruto gave us access to some pretty advanced recording equipment. Ideally, I'd like to bug their compound."

"Getting inside another clan's compound is easier said than done," ANBU Crane said. "But I like the idea. We're on the outside right now. We need to get on the inside."

"While I'm shadowing, you two could determine an Akimichi to trust and bring him in on the operation," Crane suggested.

"I don't trust any of them," Hawk said frankly. "Maybe they have nothing to do with the conspiracy but no clan ninja would betray another member of their clan."

"Itachi did," Crow said nonchalantly. Crow looked over at the Hyuuga. "Hinata did. We just have to find the right person. Sometimes your sense of loyalty to Konoha outweighs your loyalty to the clan."

"In order to do that we need to get close and get to know the members of the Akimichi clan on more than just pieces of paper." Crane said and insisted once again, "We need to get on the inside. It will widen the options available to us. We'll be able to bug their compound and determine which one of them might be worth trusting."

Hawk shoved another dumpling in his mouth and chewed it for several seconds before he said slowly, "I know that the Akimichi compound usually extends an invitation to the significant other of a clan member if it is a serious relationship."

As a civilian, Tomu had grown up with stories from idealist young women who romanticized the Akimichi as princes come to sweep them off their feet into a life of wealth and opulence.

Crane shrugged. "I've had ero-ninja training. Pull everyone that fits the profile we need."

"But you're supposed to be shadowing the Akimichi."

"Shadowing them is like throwing a kunai in the dark. It's more important we establish ourselves on the inside," Crane argued.

"It's too risky," Hawk countered. "There aren't many but there are a few skilled sensors in the Akimichi clan and every compound had defenses for infiltration. They might be able to sense a henge. Not only that but wearing any kind of henge into any clan compound is asking for trouble."

"What about one of the Hokage's transformation seals?"

"Still requires chakra and if they so happen to catch that it'll be a direct link to Naruto. That option is extremely risky. To make it work, you'll have to do it as Hohei Hyuuga and a Hyuuga doesn't date an Akimichi."

"That would be messy," Crane begrudgingly agreed. Then he gave Crow a once-over. Hawk immediately saw where Crane's thoughts were headed.

"We are so fucked," Hawk said. "I can't do it because of my connection to the Uzumaki clan. Our only option is the one guy who couldn't seduce someone if his life depended on it."

Crow simply gave a 'Hn,' not completely in disagreement with Tomu.

"With the brown eyes and maybe dyed hair, no one would know who he is. We could create an entire cover for him without ever using a henge," Crane seemed to be arguing the pros and cons to himself aloud. "And he is hot. If he had stayed in Konoha all those years ago and joined ANBU, they'd probably have placed him in the ero division anyways."

It was an odd fact to hear – that besides the sharingan, Konoha would have exploited his ability to gather a mass of fangirls without ever lifting a single finger. Crow wasn't still uncertain of the idea. As evidence from his brief career as a prostitute, he could probably force himself to have sex just fine. But to enter into a committed relationship enough for the family to ask him to dinner? He could try, but Sasuke had his doubts that he'd be successful.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Hawk asked.

Sasuke gave a grunt of consent.

"All right. But for right now, Crane will begin shadowing the Akimichi and I'll start drafting a list of potential Akimichi that fit the profile we need. You're both dismissed."

* * *

"Let's talk about sex," Dr. Yamanaka suggested.

Sasuke groaned as he sunk into the cushions of the couch. Sometimes they talked about random topics if there wasn't a specific issue bothering him and he suddenly wished he had something else to talk about today.

"Have you had sex recently?" The Doctor inquired.

Sasuke pouted and shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Maybe because I'd have to be a normal fucking person for that." Dr. Yamanaka raised a judgmental eyebrow, practically returning one of Sasuke's more favored expressions. Sasuke admitted with a mumble, "I'm not good at it."

"What do you mean?"

Sasuke's gaze landed on the bulbous vase in the corner of the room as he thought about his words. "Sex for me has always been at two different extremes – either it was thrown at me or taken. I don't know how to get to that middle."

"When is the last time you've had sex?"

Sasuke stared at the doctor sourly. "When Orochimaru was in Konoha. It was not one of my best moments. He put me in a dark place and I… took."

"Why?" the Doctor asked. "You are an incredibly attractive man, Uchiha Sasuke. Why would you feel the need to take when there are people who would give willingly?"

"Because I need to be in control," Sasuke answered. "It's when I'm not in control that I'm the one being manipulated."

"Sasuke," the Doctor said gently. "Not everyone is out to get or hurt you. Most just genuinely want to fuck you." The Doctor attempted to find a way to relate his words so Sasuke could understand.

"You had a genin team?"

Sasuke nodded. "Team Seven."

"Relationships are as complicated as the dynamics of a ninja team. There are too many factors and too many things going on to try and control every single person on the team. You'd only get yourself killed. At some point you have to recognize that the only person you have control over is yourself. Relationships are the same. The only person you have control over in a relationship is yourself and if you try to control the other person, you might as well be dead."

The Doctor leaned into Sasuke's unconvinced expression. "In this village, you certainly don't have to trust who you're sleeping with but getting in bed is a moment of vulnerability. There's a certain amount of control you need to relinquish if you want to make it that far. You'd be surprised why ninja would want to get in bed at all, but in the end we're human. Ninja still feel, they still get lonely, and insecure, and crave intimacy no matter how much the village fools itself into believing it can craft tools out of people."

Sasuke grumbled.

"How about some homework?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm not going to like this am I?"

"Go out with your cousin to a bar, pick someone up, and get laid."

Logically, Sasuke had to admit it would be good practice for the Akimichi mission and maybe taking small steps would be a good idea. Emotionally, Sasuke felt scared out of his fucking mind.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not good at this sort of stuff."

The Doctor smile with amusement. "And what does one do when they're not good at something? They practice."

* * *

Sasuke knew Tomu well enough by now to know he needed to brace himself when he told Tomu, "My Doctor says I need to get laid."

Tomu rang out with a laughter that crippled him to his knees. "Hold on, I need you to say that again while I activate my sharingan."

Sasuke kicked him in the shin and continued over Tomu's shaking mass to his closet. He needed to figure out what he was going to wear. He didn't have a lot of clothing. He certainly didn't have anything nice to go out in. There was a time when Sasuke was smug as fuck about his looks, always crafting his hair into just the right places, but that was before Orochimaru had gotten his hands all over him. Nothing on him had seemed beautiful after that.

"I can't do this."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Tomu had picked himself up, intent on returning the kick, but stopped at the crestfallen look on Sasuke's face.

Sasuke couldn't explain the sudden panic stabbing a lightning jutsu over his skin. What if they could feel Orochimaru on him, clinging to his skin like the roots of a cursed seal? What if they could see the betrayals and mistakes he couldn't wipe away that left him dirty and unclean? What if he lost his temper? Why would anyone want him?!

Naruto certainly didn't.

Sasuke hadn't heard when Tomu hiraishined out of the room. He hadn't heard when Tomu returned and brought the only help that could pull Sasuke out of this quagmire.

"Get up Sasuke," Sakura demanded. She wrapped two arms underneath his armpits and lifted him from the ground with ease. "We're going shopping."

Sasuke allowed Sakura to push him all over Konoha. He gave her control because he trusted her. How could he trust some random person off the street? He didn't know them. What if it was Orochimaru?

_WHAT IF IT WAS OROCHIMARU?!_

"Sasuke, you're having a panic attack." Sakura crouched down and grabbed Sasuke's hands. She had grown alarmed when Sasuke took too long in the dressing room, so she barged in and found her former teammate huddled in the corner with a pair of slacks covering his head. "Let's count to ten."

"Orochimaru," Sasuke finally said. The knot his throat had finally began to ease, until he said that name and it began to start all over again.

"I won't let you go home with Orochimaru," Sakura promised. "When Orochimaru body jumps, he takes loners and social outcasts because no one would notice any strange behavior. Jumping into someone's body doesn't mean he can impersonate them. I know a lot of people in Konoha. I'll make sure you're fine. It'll be okay."

Sasuke gave a slow nod and calmed down against Sakura's shoulder. Sakura would be there. He trusted her. She'll take care of him.

Sasuke slowly followed her out the dressing room. Sakura pointed to a bench. Sasuke sat obediently and then watched her terrorize the store. She picked up an armful of clothes that were his size, of which she had discovered earlier when she had hooked a finger into his pants and flipped the hem. Sasuke watched the price of the clothes ring up with a painful hitch. Sakura bought them all with ease.

"Maybe I can start tonight with my undercover persona," Sasuke suggested. It would be easier if he was not himself. It was safer for all parties involved to simply be someone else for the night.

"No, _you_ need to get laid," Sakura reprimanded. "It'll be fine Sasuke."

Sasuke paused. "Thank you."

Sakura glanced up at him with a smile. "You're welcome."

* * *

Sakura let him pick what he wanted to wear out of the piles of clothes she had bought for him (which included pajamas, casual outfits, and workout clothes). Sakura hadn't missed the fact Sasuke often wore some of Tomu's clothes. Sasuke was always aware of how much of a financial burden he was. His time in ANBU was a sentence and he didn't get paid for it. Also, Tomu didn't seem to care.

It took a while to go through all of the clothes Sakura had bought until Sasuke finally settled on an expensive blue button-down that hugged his body like a jealous girlfriend. The pants were black slacks that were tight at the hips and accentuated his behind. (All the pants Sakura bought in some form or another emphasized his ass). He did like the black dress shoes. Those were growing on him.

"A lot more formal than what I was aiming for," Sakura said as she moved over to Sasuke. She unbuttoned the top two buttons and rolled up the long sleeves to his elbows.

"I don't know if this is going to work," Tomu said uncertainly, "Because he looks like fucking Sasuke Uchiha."

"He has brown eyes," Sakura said, and then criticized, "Maybe you shouldn't have shaved. At least his hair is longer." Sakura ran a hand through Sasuke's hair to muss it up a bit, which made one piece stick up in its signature duck butt pose. "Oh kami."

Sakura literally shoved Sasuke back into the bathroom. She threw his hair back into a messy bun and left the front fringe of Sasuke's hair to frame his face. Sakura stepped back and looked at her handiwork. "Damn, Sasuke. Now go in there and sit down, I still need to get dressed."

Sasuke had to admit he kind of liked the way the up-do looked in the mirror. It was similar to the hairstyle the samurai wore in Iron country.

"It's not fair. How come I didn't inherit the good looks of the family?" Tomu moaned from where he was laying upside down on the bed.

"You were probably bred with a monkey."

Tomu hit Sasuke playfully in the shoulder when Sasuke fell upside down next to him. The rapport calmed Sasuke's nerves.

* * *

As they walked toward the long street of bars, they discussed what Sasuke's cover story should be. Sakura directed them to one of the bars best known for their strong drinks and hook-up culture. It was already packed when they entered and the heat of bodies were stifling. Thankfully, Sasuke wasn't bothered by the heat but the sheer congestion of people that were brushing past him at every turn had his hackles raised.

Sakura walked right up to the bartender, had a few words, and in seconds the bartender had sent a bouncer over to clear out a table for them. The bouncer attempted to displace a few chuunin, and when the chuunin attempted to fight back, Sakura walked over, cracked her knuckles and said sweetly, "Boys, you're in my table."

They begrudgingly left.

Sakura usually wouldn't go through all the trouble but they needed a safe space for Sasuke to return to if he got too overwhelmed. Tomu came over with a few beers.

"They're definitely checking you out," Sakura noted as she glanced across the room.

Indeed, the moment she said that, a kunoichi parted from her group of friends and came up to the table. She walked over as if she was used to always blazing the way for others. The purple fangs tattooed under her eyes marked her as an Inuzuka.

"Haruno-san," the kunoichi bowed respectfully. "What are you doing at bar like this? Your husband is still out of town?"

Sakura chuckled. "He's still in the capital. He had a three-month contract there on business. Tonight I'm playing wingwoman."

"Ah," the kunoichi smiled fully and turned back to wink back at her group of friends. The kunoichi glanced at Tomu. "You're the Uzumaki-Uchiha," she said, amused. Then she looked at Sasuke. "I don't know you."

"He just got back from a long-term mission. He's been out of Konoha for quite some time."

The kunoichi introduced herself, "Akita Inuzuka."

"Sasuke," he replied in turned. For a moment, the kunoichi gave him a dumbfounded look, glanced at Sakura, and then back at him.

Sasuke glared at Akita, daring her to challenge him on it. Sakura gave a deep sigh. "Yeah, I believe he's aware that he shares a name with one of Konoha's most psychotic murderous missing-nins. No point changing his name for that bastard."

Sometimes the truth was the best cover. No one was expecting it.

Akita chuckled, almost apologetically. "Let me buy you a drink."

"I prefer dick," Sasuke outright said. Sakura slapped herself in the face. Tomu coughed out a sudden laugh.

Akita threw back her head with a wild guffaw. "I can still buy you a drink. Let me invite my friends over. You might like one of them."

"Sure, we've got room," Sakura agreed. Akita went to go get her friends. Sakura leaned forward toward Sasuke. "In a group the female Inuzuka always leads. The Nara she has with her works in Intelligence cataloging data. They were on the same genin team. She wouldn't let you near him if she didn't like what she sniffed out. And I'm his doctor so I know he's clean."

Akita had four friends. She did very quick introductions and not so subtly shoved the Nara to sit next to Sasuke. There was a non-clan kunoichi that sat beside Tomu and a younger Inuzuka kunoichi who sat across from Tomu. There was a male Momochi but he looked as if he didn't want to be there and sent baleful glares toward Akita.

"Nara Seo," The Nara introduced himself, blushing.

Sasuke could at least relax at the thought that Orochimaru would have a harder time stealing the body of a clan ninja. He glanced over at Sakura who scratched behind her ear, a signal to tell Sasuke that she was certain this Nara wasn't Orochimaru, especially not with a protective Inuzuka in the group.

"Sasuke," He introduced himself.

The Nara didn't flinch. Akita probably forewarned them. Seo casually asked, "how come I haven't seen you around?"

"Mission," Sasuke said and took a drink of his beer. Conversation suddenly stalled between. For the life of him, Sasuke couldn't think of what else to say. Sasuke tried to remember what he used do as a genin to enchant fangirls to fall at his feet. But- nothing. He did _nothing_.

And it had been embarrassingly easy with Naruto. All he has to do was insult the guy and conversation would spring back to life.

"Can we see the sharingan?" Sasuke whipped his head around when the younger Inuzuka asked a question of Tomu. "It's not like it's a secret anymore."

Tomu huffed back and activated his sharingan. The moment his eyes turned red, it got the attention of everyone in the bar. More than a few people began to wander over curious, quite a few with a predatory glint in their eyes.

Akita slapped her hands against the table and growled out threateningly, "Back the fuck up."

Sasuke slammed he heel of his foot down on Tomu's shoe. Tomu jerked up and met the words in Sasuke's glare, ' _Really? Flashing the sharingan in a bar?_ '

Tomu crossed his arms with a shrug, ' _What's the big deal?_ '

Sasuke did this weird wiggle of an expression that twisted his eyebrows, ' _THE FUCK, Tomu! It's not a toy_. _We are going to have a talk about this later_.'

Tomu let out an exasperated huff. ' _Fine, I'll try not to do anything but kill people with them_.' Grumpily, Tomu turned back toward the kunoichi.

The Nara didn't miss the unspoken conversation between the two men. "Are you two family?"

"Distantly," Sasuke gruffed out. He directed his glare at his bottle of beer. He couldn't even imagine what his father would have done to him if he had heard Sasuke was in the clubs flashing the sharingan to pick up girls.

His brooding silence had gone on so long that Sakura kicked him in the shin. She mouthed with her lips, 'make conversation.'

"So…" Sasuke said slowly after finally emptying his beer in retribution. "What do you do?"

"I work in Intelligence," the Nara replied as he leaned into Sasuke. "It's not really interesting. All I do is catalog data. I used to be an active ninja but I retired after the war. I damaged my lungs pretty bad. But it's not as if I'm helpless." Seo shot Akita a look.

Suddenly Tomu shifted and pressed in closer to Sasuke's arm. Sasuke looked over and found one of the kunoichi had moved a hand in an attempt to touch Tomu's thigh.

Then it hit him. And Sasuke felt like an ass. He couldn't believe that he had been caught up in his own problems that he didn't see how this would affect Tomu. Sasuke leaned over and whispered in Tomu's ear, "You want to go?"

Tomu gave him a weak smile. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Sasuke turned back to the Nara who had waited on him patiently. "Is everything okay?" Seo asked.

Sasuke growled out, "Your friends are making him uncomfortable. He just lost his wife."

Seo's eyes widened and Akita turned, alarmed, from her conversation with Sakura. She stretched across the table and whispered to the two kunoichi. One of them gasped, "We forgot that your wife had been killed by… Orochimaru."

That name sent an unseen wave of tension through the entire bar.

Tomu sunk down into the cushions and opened another beer with a pout. The kunoichi bowed apologetically and walked out toward the dance floor. Sasuke felt relieved when Tomu struck up an odd conversation about card games with the Momochi.

"What's your favorite music?" Seo asked in a desperate attempt to strike up conversation.

"Traditional," Sasuke answered, and then found himself stuck in the same dilemma that he had before. What does he say now?

Seo valiantly forged onward. "I like rock but I have a soft spot for one or two of KB's songs. Until Killer Bee, you really didn't hear anyone talk so candidly on what it's really like to be a ninja. They even play his songs in the capital. Civilians love him."

The hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck noted Tomu's sly glance, knowing Tomu wanted to jump into the conversation but also respecting Sasuke's supposed interest in the Nara.

Suddenly the start of a familiar beat had everyone out of their chairs. Seo's green eyes lit up and asked, "Do you want to dance?"

Sasuke looked at him in horror. That sounded like a terrible idea. "I don't dance."

"Yes, you do." Sakura corrected him and literally shoved him out the chair with so much force, Sasuke was launched out the seat and knocked someone over.

Seo helped him to his feet with an awkward shuffle. "Haruno-san can be even scarier than an Inuzuka."

Sasuke snorted at that.

_Got back from a mission today high and alive and just got paid._

On the dance floor, the lyrics of the song assaulted his ears. The congestion of sweaty bodies seemed to suck in the air he needed to breath. Sasuke tensed, prepared for a fight, when the Nara placed a hand on his arm.

_Make this B-class fade away let's blow this money all in one day._

Everyone threw fingers up in the air counting:

_One bar, two bar, three bar, four. Gamble Tsunade out of her drawers._

It felt like an earthquake the way the floor was shaking underneath him. Everyone around him were jumping in the air and shouting like idiots.

_Fuck a Yamanaka, huff a Nara for some weed, fine dining with the Akimichi, then get drunk like Rock Lee!_

Sasuke didn't want to be here. He hated this. He just wanted to fuck. Why did everything in between have to be so tedious?

Seo noticed Sasuke's discomfort. Sasuke raised an inquisitive eyebrow when Seo began a jutsu. Then shadows were literally shoving people out of their way as Seo led Sasuke to a back exit. Sasuke fell into the open air and breathed it in greedily.

Seo picked at the hem of his sleeve as he watched Sasuke. "That didn't go very well did it?"

Sasuke looked at the Nara. It was easier to see him in the light of the street lamps. He had a plain face and sharp eyes like most of his clan. He held himself both self-consciously and concerned. "Look, I can tell you don't really like me. But for what it's worth, you're like the craziest sexiest thing I have ever seen. And Haruno-san vouches for you so you can't be that bad of a guy. I just, I know I'm out of your league."

"You'd have sex with me?" Sasuke asked, just getting straight to the point. He's seen enough of this Nara to know that the chuunin-level ninja didn't have a chance of killing him even if he wanted to. Perhaps he didn't trust the man fully but Sasuke didn't sense anything outright threatening.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go." Sasuke grabbed Seo by the hand and tugged him out of the alleyway. Though, once he got to the street he wasn't sure where to go. Did he want this guy he barely even knew in his apartment? Seo laughed and pulled Sasuke toward the closest motel.

"Are these things clean?" Sasuke asked with a scrunch of the nose.

"Probably not." Seo smiled, in brighter spirits now knowing the other guy was actually interested.

They walked up two flight of stairs to their assigned room because evidently the motel was packed. Seo closed the door while Sasuke surveyed the room. There were condoms and sex toys in separate baskets on the nightstand. It was clean enough.

Sasuke was never good with words. Perhaps that was ultimately his problem. But for right now, that didn't matter as Sasuke pulled the Nara forward to roll Seo's shirt up and over his arms. Seo helped Sasuke with the buttons of his shirt. Sasuke fell back into the bed to tug off his pants.

Then Sasuke blinked his eyes open and the Nara was crouched over him. Seo dipped in slowly, showing his intentions, and Sasuke tilted his head to accept the offered kiss. The Nara tasted of grass, fresh air, and ripe blueberries.

"Top or bottom?" Sasuke asked, unsure if he wanted to bottom with a stranger.

Seo cursed. These were questions that should have been asked at the bar, if there had been more words between them. For some people it could be a deal breaker. "I'm so sorry, I know that Naras are generally tops but with my lungs it's better for me if I bottom."

"That's fine," Sasuke said in relief. Then he paused and couldn't help but ask, "Naras are tops?"

Seo raised an eyebrow and found it amusing that he had finally found a conversation that interested his partner. "How long have you been away from Konoha?"

"A long time." Sasuke hadn't meant that answer to sound so weary but it was true nevertheless.

Seo demonstrated with a quick hand seal. Shadows-like ropes came and latched loosely onto one of Sasuke's arms and tied it to the bedpost. The Nara dismissed them in seconds.

"Ah," Sasuke said in understanding. "No, I wouldn't like that."

Sasuke unbuckled Seo's belt. Seo lifted his hips and shivered when Sasuke dragged his hands over his ass while pulling off his boxers. "What's your number?"

"Huh?"

Seo just looked at Sasuke in awe. "You know, the number. People generally have a list of the clans they've fucked. As the saying goes, you'll never know Konoha until you've fucked them all."

"One," Sasuke said thoughtfully, "Guess I can add Nara to my list."

"I don't really count," Seo lamented. "Or believe me, I'd have you tied up to this bed already."

Sasuke scoffed, then twisted toward the nightstand. Seo was flipped onto his back and handcuffs clicked around his wrist and locked him to the bed. Seo looked up at the metal brace around his wrists and gave a shy approving nod.

After a moment, Sasuke asked, "Have you ever fucked a Uchiha?"

Seo drew back at the unexpected question. "I was a kid when they all died. My older brother did once, said they were fucking intense. Supposed to have been all stiffs in public but in private… high emotions, high strung, and hot sex."

"Hn," Sasuke said the moment before he took the Nara's dick in his mouth. The chains of the handcuffs rattled above his head. Sasuke still had a certain measure of control but the Nara wasn't resisting him. Seo wanted him. It was a heady adrenaline rush through Sasuke's system. Sasuke tumbled his tongue through all the tricks he knew and ebbed away when Nara came close.

The handcuffs rattled. "Please," the Nara begged through a gasp, "Fuck, please."

Sasuke smirked, then summoned a fire jutsu in his lungs. His mouth went hot and Nara came in an instant. Sasuke sucked him through his orgasm and lifted up to watch the Nara's heavy breathing.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just, dude, you can do that," the Nara laughed.

"I certainly wouldn't recommend an amateur at fire jutsu to try it," Sasuke said and swallowed back the clump of ash and cum in his throat. Sasuke reached over for the bottle of lube and took his time opening the Nara. He enjoyed watching the way Seo responded to him, writhing when he added two fingers, moaning when he added three. Sasuke was unbelievably hard just listening to cries of the Nara's want.

Sasuke noticed the blood trailing down Seo's arm. "Do you want me to take off the handcuffs for this part?"

"Fuck no," Seo said as he lifted his legs forward to his chest. In that moment it struck Sasuke how helpless the Nara was – both hands handcuffed to the bed, ass in the air open and ready, naked, and no weapons readily available. No one has given him this amount of trust in a long time.

Sasuke reached for the headboard and found himself determined to make sure the Nara enjoyed this. He lined his hard and leaking dick toward the too open Nara, thrust forward, and slipped into the male with sharp ease.

Sasuke gave shallow strokes at first, looking desperately around for the prostate. He knew he found it when the handcuffs rattled and Seo arched off the bed. Then Sasuke readjusted, pressed his weight further against the Nara until he had a deeper angle.

"Kami!" The Nara cried out when Sasuke jack-hammered forward and hit the prostate with the ease of target practice. Sasuke gathered all his strength and stamina to piston hard and fast into the Nara. Sasuke had the man completely helpless, had left Seo unable to do much but to bear the onslaught.

A splatter of cum streaked across Sasuke's chest. Sasuke labored on like there was a race he needed to win and he was so close to the finish. The tension coiled in his gut. It was as if a fireball jutsu had burst out of him when he finally came.

Sasuke dropped his head into one of the pillows, burnt out.

"Wow," the Nara said after a moment when he gingerly stretched out his legs. "That was intense."

It was just the right balance of pain and pleasure to make it memorable.

Languidly, Sasuke reached up to free the Nara from the handcuffs. Seo's arms were bloody but the Nara didn't seem to mind.

"I paid for two hours. We still have time for a shower and to clean up."

Sasuke grunted from the pillow. He felt when Seo moved from the bed and then decided it was best to stay where he was. Seo's legs fell like rubber. "Yeah, let's just stay here."

After a moment, when Sasuke gathered his thoughts together, he asked, "How much was the room?"

"Don't worry about it."

Sasuke would have kept arguing about it but it was hard to find his pride in the blissful haze of post-orgasm.

Then Seo beside him tensed, which was hard not to notice when everything had been so relaxed and weightless before. Nara said slowly, with a tread of fear in his voice that began setting off alarm bells. "You know, with your hair around your face and your eyes closed like that you kind of look like Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hn."

"I'm sort of starting to freak out here and I get it if this is shit I'm not supposed know about but please tell me this is Kage sanctioned."

"And if it isn't?"

"Oh shit," Seo literally fell back out of the bed. Suddenly the Nara was wheezing and Sasuke picked himself up in concern. Maybe that was a bad joke. But post orgasm he couldn't have cared less. Sasuke saw the Nara fumbling in his pants pocket. Sasuke moved forward but it only seemed to freak the Nara out more as he wrenched free his inhaler and breathed in the medicine.

"Please don't kill me," Seo managed the words when he could finally breathe.

It was time for Sasuke to leave. He couldn't stand the terror he saw in the man's eyes. "I'm…" Sasuke searched for anything that could make this better. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke stuffed on his pants, threw the shirt over his cum splattered chest and left. He dropped a bundle of the money Sakura had given him to spend on the counter. He'd rather be in Sakura's debt. Then Sasuke hunched his shoulders and walked to the apartment.

His expression dropped at the sight of Sakura dragging Tomu out of the bathroom, vaguely smelling of vomit. Sakura swiveled her eyes toward Sasuke in excitement, then dropped Tomu onto the couch. She waggled her eyebrows. "How did it go?"

"What is wrong with you?" Sasuke snapped angrily. "I've ignored you, I've hated you, I've tried to kill you! Why are you still here? Why aren't you fucking afraid of me!"

Sakura faced Sasuke with two hands on her hips. She stepped forward, unafraid, and couldn't care less if Sasuke might lash out. Sasuke gave a heartbreaking whine when Sakura wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. She asked in a softer voice, "What happened?"

"Me," Sasuke whispered miserably.

The hurt rushed out of him and left Sasuke hollow in her arms.

* * *

"I take it didn't go so well?" Dr. Yamanaka asked after Sakura had called and literally demanded that the doctor find time in his schedule to see Sasuke today.

Sasuke gave him a flat look that said all the words he needed.

"What happened?"

"I fucked someone. They figured out I was Sasuke Uchiha. They freaked out. Eventually, Sakura had to tell Naruto," and wasn't that fucking embarrassing, "they had a Yamanaka erase his memory and it never fucking happened."

Sasuke was fairly sure he was never going to have sex again.

"Sounds like a victory to me."

"What kind of victory was that? The guy was terrified of me. I know I've done things but I don't just randomly hurt people…" Sasuke frowned. "I'm not Orochimaru!"

"How was it up until the point he figured out who you were?"

Sasuke frowned, and then mumbled, "It was good."

"It proves you can do it. You can find that neutral ground. You gave up some control. It was good. Maybe next time, you shouldn't go by your real name."

"But I want them moaning _my_ name."

The Doctor was silent for a while and then looked at Sasuke. "The fact of the matter is, Sasuke, is that no matter where you go in this entire world people are terrified of your name."

Sasuke sat in a dark silence.

No matter how much he regretted his mistakes, his name would always be tainted. And it had been him to taint the Uchiha name. Whenever someone brought up the clan, they would immediately remember Sasuke Uchiha. Infamy was the one thing where he had apparently surpassed Itachi. They wouldn't remember that his uncle owned a forge, or that his mom used to love making desserts, or that his grandma collected cat figurines. They wouldn't remember that the Uchiha loved intensely.

They would remember his name. Sasuke Uchiha. Missing-nin, psychotic, murderer, killed of Kages, Orochimaru's student.

It all felt so overwhelming – how he had irrevocably fucked up.

And there was no time-reverse jutsu or all the apologies in the world that could fix everything he had ever broken.

"Do you want to be someone else?" The Doctor asked. "If you could run away, change your name, and go to a place where no one knows who you are, would you? If you could, would you start over?"

"No." Sasuke's answer was immediate. "My name is all that's left."

The Uchiha of his surname was all that was left of the clan. He couldn't start over. Sasuke imagined that on that path he'd never stop hating himself, but at least on this one, even though it was harder, there was the slim chance he might one day forgive himself.

ANBU wore a mask. They gave up their names for anonymity in service to Konoha. But he refused to give Konoha his name. Tomu turned into Hawk. Hohei turned into Crane. But Sasuke couldn't be anything other than Sasuke Uchiha.

He refuses to surrender his name to Konoha, to those who fear him, or to his own doubts and insecurities. Sasuke Uchiha had to live in the world that he had broken.

* * *

"What the fuck is this?" Sasuke said when he saw the flashing neon lights for, 'The Yellow Flash Karaoke Bar.' Sasuke stared back at the address Sakura had given him to make sure this was the right place.

"Sasuke, you're right on time." Sasuke heard the clacking of Sakura's heels before she wrapped an arm around him and pulled him through the front door. She turned corners with the ease of one who frequented this place often and leaned forward onto the desk counter. "The usual."

"Right this way."

Sasuke and Sakura were showed to a dark room where Naruto was waiting. Naruto was wearing a henge but Sasuke knew the way Naruto lounged on a couch. Sasuke was rather surprised to find him there. Sasuke glared at Sakura with a suspicious look.

When the door closed, Naruto dismissed his henged. "Now that the Cloud handover is finished, I finally have the time to pour all my attention toward Orochimaru. It's about time we made a plan."

Sasuke had been feeling listless ever since the disaster three days ago, but talking about killing Orochimaru immediately snapped him to attention. Sasuke criticized, "We're going to talk about Orochimaru here?"

"Do you think Orochimaru would ever come to a karaoke bar?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted begrudgingly as Naruto moved a bucket of ice and the karaoke menu to spread out Orochimaru's files onto the table. Orochimaru might be crafty enough to break into any one of the rooms in the ANBU underground but would never think of looking in a karaoke bar. "Is there a reason why this place is named after your father?"

"One of the Cloud ninja wanted to open up a karaoke bar like they have in Kumo and I decided to help him with it. Gave him the start-up money. He let me choose the name."

"I'm surprised it wasn't ramen inspired."

"I was seriously considering it."

"The karaoke bar was my idea," Sakura said smugly as she sat down. There was a soft smile on her face as she glanced between the two of them. Sasuke wasn't convinced she didn't have an ulterior motive here.

"Alright, Orochimaru," Naruto said to draw their attention. "My primary concern is the jutsu he uses to steal bodies. We need something to defend against it."

"Orochimaru chooses social outcasts for a reason. He can't copy the original bodies' memories. As long as we know the person well enough, he shouldn't be able to get past detection. And because of our positions in Konoha, we practically know just about everyone. His options are limited if he doesn't want to be detected."

"The problem is when he does want to be detected," Sasuke said. "Then he'll just take any body he pleases, including yours. Since he hasn't done that yet I'm assuming he's hidden for a reason – for now."

"I've been trying to create a seal to prevent the jutsu. Sasuke, you're the only one who has ever resisted the jutsu. How did you do it?"

"That was before he perfected it and evidently I still didn't do a good job of it as Orochimaru had still been along for the ride," Sasuke said grumpily. "And Orochimaru was weak at the time. I don't know if it's possible to even resist it anymore."

Naruto sighed. "Regardless, I'm going to try and work on a seal."

"The seal is all well and good but what's the point if we can't kill him," Sakura argued. "He regrows limbs and his pure form is impervious to damage and resistant to poisons."

"I'll hit him with a rasenshuriken. It attacks the enemy on a molecular level. It should kill him."

Sasuke shook his head. "Orochimaru knows you have that attack. I can already assure you that he has a counter for it."

"Do you have any better ideas on how to kill him?" Naruto snapped, growing frustrated. His usual flash of brilliance was not forthcoming against Orochimaru.

"It has to be something Orochimaru doesn't see coming."

"Which is easier said than done," Sakura huffed. "What if we don't kill him? The closest Orochimaru ever came to dying was the Dead Demon Consuming Seal the Sandaime used."

"That kills the summoner and the user."

Sasuke added, "And I believe that Orochimaru still has the Noh mask that provides access to the Shinigami – the mask he used to get his arms back in the first place. It'd be pointless."

"But something like that," Sakura insisted. "We need something to trap him permanently. Like how you trap a tailed beast into a person."

Sasuke shook his head. "I've had Orochimaru absorbed into my body once enough. It takes considerable chakra just to keep him suppressed. And he's manipulative. No matter who you put him in he's going to find a way out. The second time he was close to dying was when Itachi pierced him with the Totsuka sword and that only succeeded in sealing him a part of him."

"Well, is the Totsuka sword an option? Tomu has the mangekyou. Could he access it?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a look as if he was an idiot. "Tomu would have to have Susanoo in his left eye and I'm fairly sure it's a different ability. And even if he had Susanoo, our chakra might give it manifestation but Susanoo is from the realm of yokai. You'd have to travel through it and hope Itachi's Susanoo likes you. That sword is lost."

Sakura hit her forehead against the table. "Why did you have to revive him?"

"He was never truly dead," Sasuke argued. "Orochimaru had implanted the cursed seal on thousands spread out through the Five Shinobi Nations, and every single curse has a part of Orochimaru's consciousness that is always actively trying to revive or unseal him if anything happened to his main body. And when I revived him he was weak enough to handle. He's grown considerably stronger in the years."

Naruto rubbed his eyes. "So what you're saying is that even if we want to kill him, we need to track down everyone Orochimaru has placed a cursed seal on and unseal them?"

"If Itachi had to seal him, then even my brother couldn't figure out a way to kill him," Sasuke sighed softly. "But yes, I guess if we're to start anywhere it's with those with the cursed seal. I'm certain he's added more to his collection over the years."

"If I could capture someone with a cursed seal I might be able to study it and locate all the seals that match it," Naruto suggested. "This is good. This is a start. I'll send out a few spies tomorrow."

"There are two cursed seals: Cursed seal of Heaven and Cursed Seal of Earth. You'd need both. And in the meantime, I suggest we find a better way to kill him." It was a start but Sasuke knew this was far from over.

"How about we break for the night, let all the information simmer, and come back next week?"256 Sakura suggested.

"I guess," Naruto said reluctantly.

Sakura glanced over at the ticking clock. "We still have fifteen minutes. How about we used this to our advantage."

"I don't know Sakura. I need to get home and-"

"Great, I'll order the booze." Sakura immediately pressed the button connected to the main desk and ordered a dozen beers and a bottle of sake.

"Kami, Sakura, you know I don't have the sort of tolerance you do and I shouldn't be drinking," Naruto complained.

"I'm your doctor. I told you a long time ago that your heart has improved. You are perfectly capable of drinking," Sakura chided. "Look, Sasuke has had a fucked up week. Naruto, you've been so busy I hardly see you. While all three of us are here, why not hang out for a while?"

Naruto groaned. "Fifteen minutes?"

"Fifteen minutes," Sakura promised. Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, wondering how the idiot didn't see her blatant lie. Sasuke on the other hand just didn't have the strength to fight Sakura anymore. And he preferred the intimate comfort of a karaoke room with Team Seven to a crowded bar filled with strangers.

The beers and sake came seconds later. Sasuke watched in confusion as Sakura mixed the beer and sake into some concoction he's never seen before, but after all, this was Tsunade's pupil. "Okay, this is a sake bomb. When you pull the chopsticks you drink, got it?"

Sasuke nodded and wondered how this was going to work without spilling it all over himself.

"The last to chug it down has to take another shot."

"Come on, Sakura," Naruto complained.

"Who would have guessed you'd be the party pooper," Sakura pouted.

"Yeah, well, that was before I could get drunk," Naruto said sourly. Locking away the Kyuubi's chakra not only stalled his healing but also had unintended consequences he had found out the hard way. "And I have kids at home, I haven't told Ame I'd be out so late, I'm supposed to be-"

"To Team Seven!" Sakura toasted and snatched away her chopsticks. Sasuke quickly did the same.

Sakura slammed her beer glass onto the counter. It took Sasuke several seconds later. Naruto gave up halfway and had spilled most of it on his shirt.

"Teme, that's pathetic," Sasuke leaned forward with a teasing smirk.

Naruto threw off his soaked shirt angrily. Sakura shoved a shot in front of Naruto. "You lost, drink."

"No, I'm the Hokage and I'm ordering you to-" Naruto noticed the look Sakura gave Sasuke.

He didn't move in time before Sakura tackled Naruto into the cushions of the couch. Sasuke had taken the hint and snapped the bag of hiraishin kunai from around Naruto's waist and held them hostage. Sakura told Naruto, "You're not going home until you drink."

"Ugh, fine." Naruto reached and finished the shot in a gulp. "I hate the both of you."

"Sakura is right. I'm supposed to be the party pooper," Sasuke commented.

Suddenly the chords of a song began to fill the room. Sakura had entered a number into the machine and with another empty sake glass behind her, grabbed a microphone. "Come on, Naruto. This one is your favorite."

It took one more shot to get Naruto blaring into the microphone beside Sakura. Sasuke didn't know many songs but found it amusing at how Sakura literally took over a stage. Confidence was a good look on her. While they were singing, Sasuke noticed that the fifteen minutes on the clock had lurched forward to an hour. He didn't know if the owner simply gave them more time or if Sakura had asked for more.

"Teme, aren't you supposed to be a rapper or something, pick the next fucking song," Naruto said as he stumbled back into the couch while Sasuke attempted to pick a song. He didn't find many that he knew and the letters in the book were so small and things were getting a bit blurry.

"Rapper?" Sakura asked curiously.

Then Naruto collapsed in a wave of _giggles._ Naruto drunk was a sight to see. It was as if someone had given him too much candy. The guy couldn't sit still, always buzzing with a nervous excited energy. Isn't alcohol supposed to be a _depressant_?

"Sakura, you haven't heard it?! I caught Tomu listening to the song when I walked into the house one day. It's hilarious!"

Sasuke sunk further into the cushions.

"Hold on, let me find it," Naruto snatched the book out of Sasuke's lap. Sasuke tensed in horror and immediately tackled Naruto to the ground.

"Tell me the number!" Sakura laughed as she pushed at Sasuke with her foot to keep him pinned down while Sasuke attempted to hold the frantic search of Naruto's arms.

"1-" Naruto accidently kicked the table and shot glasses crashed to the floor. "5-" Sasuke caught a hold of Sakura's ankle and she tripped forward, crawling desperately out of his grip to reach the machine that had slid out of her hands. "3-" In frustration, Naruto reached down and automatically responded the way he would attack his kids. Sasuke jolted and curled in horror, feeling violated that Naruto had somehow found the tickle spot that Itachi had once mercilessly took advantage of. How was that spot still there?! "9!"

Then the song Sasuke had done with Killer Bee began filling the room. To Sasuke's utter surprise, Naruto jumped up (like a bunny), leapt over the cracked table (how did that happen?), and began rapping the song word for word.

Sakura lifted Sasuke up from the floor, which was beginning to become an uncomfortable habit between them, and physically shoved Sasuke to the stage. Naruto handed Sasuke a microphone with the biggest grin he's ever given Sasuke, albeit there was a mad and drunken hinge to it. Sasuke snatched the microphone and spat the verses much to Sakura wide-eyed stunned stare.

The song ended with a score of '98', the highest so far of the night.

"What! No fair!" Naruto complained. Naruto raced to put in a number on the machine.

 _The competition was on_.

After several songs, Sasuke was fairly sure that those numbers were bullshit. He had drunkenly inputted a number, hadn't even known the song, garbled through the words, and somehow scored an '100'. But the face of Naruto's affronted disbelief was priceless.

Sasuke grabbed the mike solemnly, "I realize the screaming pain, hearing loud in my brain, but I'm going straight ahead with the scar."

Once the drums kicked in, Naruto jumped up beside him. They took turns singing the bridge, coming in together for the chorus, and jumping and hopping around like idiots during the guitar riffs.

By the end of the song, Naruto and Sasuke had collapsed against each other laughing. Naruto looked at Sasuke with bright wild eyes and a boyish smile that turned the whiskers on his face to endearing.

"I've missed you," Naruto said softly.

Because Sasuke couldn't control his own mouth right now, of course he said, "I've missed you too."

By the time they left the karaoke bar, three hours later, all three were unapologetically smashed. Sakura was limping down the sidewalk and holding a broken heel against her chest. Naruto and Sasuke were hanging off each other, often laughing at both nothing and everything.

"Oh wait, hold on, I can't. Can't we just stop here?" Naruto dropped to his knees and then literally stretched out in the middle of the road.

"My house is the closest. We can make it," Sakura said as she leaned down and physically dragged Naruto behind her. Sasuke sneered with laughter at Naruto, the Hokage, shirtless being dragged down the street.

"Ugh, Sakura, I can't make it that far," Naruto took out a hiraishin kunai from the belt pouch he has somehow reclaimed and grabbed Sasuke's ankle.

The sudden rush of chakra had Sasuke grabbing onto the kitchen table and vomiting in the sink. Sakura mumbled tiredly and made a beeline for the stairs. Sasuke trudged over to the couch, for some reason it was too damn hot and within seconds Sasuke had kicked his clothes off to his underwear. With his eyes closed, he could hear Naruto pissing in the toilet, cursing, probably because he kept missing. Sasuke snickered at the idiot and fell asleep soon afterwards.

* * *

Why was the sun hitting him right in the damn eyes? He had curtains for a reason. Sasuke woke up with a glare. He made a shift to close the stupid curtains and gasped in pain at the torture ringing in his head. It took him several slow seconds to realize this wasn't his room in the apartment or at the compound. Sasuke forced himself to sit, fighting through the pain, to realize something was very wrong. This wasn't Naruto's house either. He searched for a weapon but realized all he had on him was his underwear. Why was he naked?!

What the fuck was going on?

The last thing Sasuke remembered was discussing Orochimaru with Naruto and Sakura. Had Orochimaru attacked? Wait, did he remember singing?

Suddenly the sound of running water caught his attention. Sasuke got up and crept around the corner into a kitchen. Then he paused, frozen in shock. He closed his eyes for several seconds and then reopened them to the image of the Kazekage with an apron rinsing out what looked like vomit from the sink.

"Where the fuck am I?"

"Suna," Gaara answered, then turned to study Sasuke. "I should be the one asking what you are doing in my house, Uchiha."

"Where's Naruto?"

"In my bathroom asleep. And Sakura is asleep in my bed," Gaara said the last sentence bitingly, and then gave Sasuke a death glare as if it was his fault.

Then Sasuke uncomfortably asked, "Where are my clothes?"

"Outside drying on the clothesline. There was vomit on them."

"Did you," Sasuke cleared his throat, "Take them off me?"

Gaara gave Sasuke such a look. "I picked them up off the floor. I don't know who took them off you."

Sasuke looked up at the sound of footsteps and Sakura groggily stomped down the stairs. She didn't seem surprised that they were in Suna. "Stupid Naruto using the wrong kunai," then Sakura stopped and scanned Sasuke from the feet up, head down, three times over. "Where are your clothes? And what happened to your face?"

Naruto crawled out of the bathroom moments later. "Why is there so much noise? Hey Gaara, you didn't tell me you were stopping by for a visit." Naruto looked over at Sasuke and burst out laughing, soon followed by a groan. "What happened to your face?"

Sasuke smirked. "What happened to yours?"

Naruto's face was covered in white paint with streaks of color across it, making him look like a cartoonish fox. "Fucking Kankurou."

"At least Naruto isn't eating a dick." Sakura pointed out from the guardrail.

Naruto lurched forward laughing again. "I wonder how he knew."

Sasuke stomped into the bathroom Naruto had crawled out of and to his horror there was a dick face-painted onto his face in great awful detail. Kankurou was a fucking artist and a sadistic bastard. Sasuke attempted to rinse the paint off with water and almost scrubbed off his face. Sakura leaned into the doorway. "If Kankurou did that then his face paint is water proof. You won't be able to get it off without his solution."

"I am going to destroy the entirety of Suna," Sasuke promised through his teeth.

Sakura laughed as if Sasuke had just made a joke, when only a year ago, she would have taken the threat seriously. "I'll make a tea to help with the hangover. Gaara is making breakfast."

Sasuke stomped out the bathroom just as Gaara pulled muffins from the oven. Sasuke couldn't even process that. Everyone gathered at the kitchen table and Naruto groaned, "What happened last night?"

"I got pictures," Sakura said smugly. "We'll have to wait for the film to develop but," Sasuke froze at a click and a flash, "can't hurt to take more."

"Why don't you have any face paint?" Sasuke demanded.

"Maybe because Kankurou values his life." Sakura smirked and took a bite of her muffin. "These are great Gaara."

Gaara gave a proud smile.

"How do I get it off?" Sasuke demanded.

"You should probably keep sucking," Sakura suggest with a wry smile. Naruto almost choked on his muffin at Sakura's dick joke.

Sasuke threw his muffin until it thumped against Sakura's forehead. Gaara frowned. Sakura only threw her head back with laughter but Naruto suddenly crept in on the teasing. "I'm sure Sakura-chan could give you some pointers."

"Naruto is right. If I had known you liked dick, we could have been sharing tips a long time ago."

Sasuke stood and declared, "You are an evil woman."

He took Naruto's half-eaten muffin off of his plate because he was hungry and marched outside before he had a "situation." All this talk about eating dicks and Naruto sitting shirtless beside him was beginning to get to his imagination. He walked out the back door to see his clothes fluttering in the wind. They were still a little damp but good enough put back on.

He turned with a glare at Sakura who had followed him outside.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "If you don't like the teasing I'll stop. It's just hard to take you serious with," Sakura waved at his face, "that on your face."

"It's fine." Sasuke shrugged. He hasn't made Naruto laugh like that in years, even if it did take a dick on his face to do it.

Sakura held out a small jar. "Found this in Kankurou's room. It should be able to wipe off the face paint."

"Thanks," Sasuke accepted the peace offering and began wiping at his face. It smelled terrible. "Is it working?"

"Now it looks like you're eating shit. You've smeared it everywhere. Wipe at it some more."

Sasuke huffed and grabbed a towel from the clothes line. He wiped at his face more vigorously. Sakura nodded when he finally got it all cleaned. Sakura patted Sasuke's shoulder. "We should hurry and get back to Konoha before Hinata calls a state of emergency."

When they re-entered the house, Naruto was talking quietly with Gaara. Sasuke remembered when the two jinchuuriki had first met and now they were sitting in the kitchen as comfortable as life-long friends. Sasuke felt a twang of jealously. He wanted that _ease_ with Naruto again. He knew he still had a long way to go.

Naruto grabbed a muffin to go and gave a quick, "thanks for everything."

"I only regret not being here last night."

Naruto snorted and pointed at Gaara with a promise. "One day, Gaara, one day I will get you drunk."

Then Naruto wrapped an arm around Sakura and slapped Sasuke on the shoulder with a muffin hanging from his mouth. Naruto smiled at them. Sakura gave Sasuke a smug wink. And it occurred to Sasuke that he's never had this much fun in a long time. The bad mood hanging over him ever since the disaster that happened three nights ago dissipated so suddenly. He almost didn't recognize this sensation of warmth bubbling through him. He was happy.

Together, they went home.

* * *

**x**

* * *

**_Sasuke Uchiha had to live in the world that he had broken._ **

* * *

 


	15. Clan Loyalty

"His name is Chiro Akimichi. He had been a chuunin but retired unexpectedly after the war to open one of Konoha's premiere sushi restaurants. He's on the lower-rung of the Akimichi power structure and one of three who oversee their legitimate businesses. Crane and I have scoped him out. He's coming off a bad break-up from a few months ago, decent guy from as far as we could tell, and loves to have eye-candy on his arm for business functions and parties."

"This is the plan," Hawk pointed between Crane and Crow. "You two are going on a date."

"Wait, what?" Sasuke asked. Crane was expectantly awaiting the rest of the conversation.

"You're going to go on a date at Chiro's sushi restaurant and have a rather public break-up. Right now, we're just trying to get you on Chiro's radar and believe me, dating a Hyuuga would definitely do that. Even though they are allowed to, the Hyuuga are still very hesitant to date outside the clan. It will take someone special to get their attention. Chiro will be intrigued."

Crane groaned. "The date will be all over the compound before it even finishes. I don't like involving my personal life in missions."

"You have no personal life," Hawk said frankly. "The mission will commence tomorrow night. In the meantime, I've enlisted Sakura to help with your transformation."

Crane groaned at that. He didn't look forward to it.

* * *

"I don't know. The dye made it… redder than it was supposed to be." Sakura said thoughtfully as she poked through the strands of his hair. She was a premier surgeon and head ninja of the Konoha hospital. Why was hair dye so hard?

"I hate it. Change it back." It was supposed to be brown. Most people in Konoha had brown. Sasuke could deal with brown.

"Well, it's permanent. We're going to have to wait until it grows back out. Maybe we can try mixing another color? Maybe this blonde will make it brown?" Sakura pouted in consternation.

"No," Sasuke was about to shoot out of the chair but Sakura clamped a hand down on his shoulder and kept him fixed into the seat. Breaking her grip was like breaking a steel bar. Sasuke grumbled before she made it any worse, "The red is fine."

He looked like fucking Juugo. Kami, he looked like fucking Karin.

"We can work with this," Sakura insisted as she began snipping through the strands of his hair. Sasuke was glad he wasn't looking in a mirror because the more he watched the hairs gather on the floor, the more anxious he got. He knew the plan was to cut it shorter than he's ever had before but it was his _hair_.

When Sakura was finished she turned him toward the mirror. He didn't recognize the horrified person he saw. The fringe around his face was gone. The rest of his hair had been swept back like one of those male models in a shampoo ad.

"From dark and broody to suave and broody," Sakura said triumphantly. "Hey, Sasuke, what do you think about tattoos?"

"No."

"Come on. You've never had any identifying tattoos. People will less likely figure out who you are."

Sasuke crossed his arms and answered sarcastically, "If I ever get a tattoo it will be the Uchiha Clan Fan on my ass."

"…are you serious?"

"No."

"Come on, Sasuke."

Sasuke Uchiha has short red hair and light brown eyes. Sasuke dismissed his own image in the mirror. "This is enough."

"What about a piercing?"

"No!"

* * *

A date with Uchiha Sasuke was intimidating and somewhat terrifying, even if it was under the pretense of a mission. Not even red hair could hide that effortless Uchiha swagger. Hohei pressed a hand into the small of his date's back and feared he was the one being led even though his hand was the guide.

Hohei glanced over and studied how the red contrasted with Sasuke's skin, highlighting planes of his face that had been hidden before. Sasuke turned and quirked an inquisitive eyebrow. The unasked question went straight to Hohei's dick.

' _This is a mission_ ,' the Hyuuga had to remind himself. Even though things have been better between he and Sasuke since their understanding, there was still history there.

"Reservation for two," Hohei said as they entered ' _Akimichi's Sushi_.' Hohei subtly wondered if the Akimichi's clan name had to be in everything. The truly respected didn't need to announce themselves wherever they went.

The host immediately nodded and said, "Right this way, Hyuuga-san."

Their dinner table was traditional - low to the table. After they slipped off their shoes, Hohei watched as Sasuke effortlessly sat down into the seiza pose.

Hohei floated like a feather. Sasuke was a cat, powerful in his grace and draped in black by his dark tuxedo. Sasuke gave Hohei a smug smirk, and then shifted his legs to the side to casually lean against one arm. Sasuke challenged like a cat teasing a mouse, "You can't do it can you?"

Out in public with everyone watching him, with this date most likely going to get back to his clan members, Hohei wouldn't dare. He sat rigid and still in the seiza poise, unwilling to break from tradition under such scrutiny of the public eye. Technically, he could date whoever he wished but he still needed to act in accordance to his last name. "I'm not exactly the clan favorite. Dishonoring the Hyuuga name would make my life already harder than it is."

"You are the Hyuuga heir."

"Most of the clan do not believe I deserve the title. Honestly, I don't know what High Sister was thinking when she chose me."

Sasuke scrutinized him with eyes that glowed in the dark like a cat, honey brown, almost gold in the sunrisen light of the restaurant. His eyes pounced around the tide of ocean that decorated Hohei's haori. "You still have a few years and tragedies ahead of you but you'll become a man worthy of the title."

Hohei's cheeks flushed at the compliment from the Sasuke Uchiha. Then a leg kicked against Hohei's knee and he shifted. In horror, Hohei quickly regained his poise under Sasuke's devious stare. Sasuke relaxed back and Hohei could tell the Uchiha was simply mocking him, but his eyes followed the lines of Sasuke's stretch. The crazy part, Hohei knew the Uchiha was unaware that he was even doing it - casually emitting sex in every movement that he took.

The waiter approached with a tray of wine.

Sasuke sent a glare toward the waiter as if he had just interrupted a deep conversation. With a fraction of killing intent the glare was powerful enough to force the waiter to stumble forward. Sasuke casually caught the wine bottle before it could fall and shatter against the ground.

With a judgmental sneer, Sasuke commented, "The service here is abhorrent."

It took only a blink of the eye when Chiro Akimichi appeared at their table with an apologetic smile. "Please excuse him, he's new. Allow me to be your waiter tonight. I would be happy to wait on such highly esteemed guests."

Sasuke gave Chiro an unimpressed stare as the Akimichi explained the history and vintage of the bottle with a flourish. Chiro poured their glasses and waited for their approval. Hohei watched Sasuke take a sip of the wine, his eyes closed in thought, and the furrow above his brow calmed.

"It's acceptable."

Chiro's eyes went wide with offense. He looked over Sasuke in thought and then said, "Just a moment and I'll bring you back something even better."

Hohei watched the man scurry away to the cellar. Hohei wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke didn't know anything about wine. Sasuke raised an eyebrow that only made his smirk look even more smug. Hohei muttered, "You are a terror."

Hohei had his initial doubts at first but Sasuke was playing the mission well. Sasuke had subdued some of the brooding silence and anger that thrummed on his skin for the mission but in large he was being none other than himself. It made Hohei a little envious.

An ero-ninja's true job was manipulation. They twist another person's trust until they break open all their secrets. Sex is only a means to an end. To an ero-ninja, the body is just another weapon, just another kunai, just another shuriken. It's about knowing how to read your enemy, figuring out what they want, and becoming the very thing they can't live without.

But Sasuke didn't need to manipulate. He could be himself and it was enough to want. Hohei shivered at the thought of what could have been if Sasuke had the proper ero-ninja training.

Chiro returned with another bottle of wine. "This one, sirs, is my personal favorite."

The wine was a deep ruby. Sasuke hugged the bottom of the glass, swirled it with a twist, and brought it to his lips. To watch Sasuke appreciate something with time and focus made the bottom of Hohei's stomach drop. Sasuke opened his eyes and gave the Akimichi a genuine smile. "It tastes like an autumn sunset in Konoha, when the leaves are changing right on your tongue."

It was that moment, Hohei could see, when the Akimichi fell in love. Chiro stared too long when Sasuke took a second sip and Hohei casted killing intent. Chiro caught himself and turned to Hohei with open shame. "Have you decided what to order?"

"Oh," Hohei hadn't even looked at the menu. He picked up the wooden slab and narrowed his eyes at the small print. He was beginning to regret not bringing his glasses.

Sasuke held out his hand. Hohei handed over the menu only for Sasuke to hand the menu over to Chiro in return. Sasuke told Chiro, almost with a challenging tone, "I trust your judgement."

"I know just the thing." Chiro bowed his head and retreated towards the kitchen.

Sasuke slid a glance towards Hohei. "Why didn't you bring your glasses?"

Hohei could feel the blood rush to his face. He immediately bowed his head to cover the blush. Hohei has come to terms with his eyesight but it was hard to forget that Konoha literally referred to him as 'the Hyuuga with the glasses.'

"I wanted to look appealing. That's what one does for a date."

Sasuke scoffed. "I have red hair."

"You look appealing no matter the color of your hair." _Oh shit_ , did he just say that? Even though Hohei could say anything with a straight face and hide any emotion behind impartial and flat words, he was still embarrassed.

Sasuke shrugged and said begrudgingly, "You do look better without the glasses. But," Sasuke's lips cracked crooked, "it wouldn't be bad to save some things for the privacy of the bedroom.

Oh kami, he was half-hard. Why did Tomu think this was a good idea?

Hohei knew his pale skin must have been red all over. He didn't have a good response to the genuine compliment and innuendo. He felt relieved when Chiro returned with platter full of sushi. They were all plated like a miniature work of art and Hohei had an inkling that Chiro had put forth his absolute best.

"Thank you. That would be all." Hohei gave a polite dismissal. He could see that Chiro wanted to remain and get Sasuke's opinion of the food but there was no better time to act the jealous boyfriend than on a date. Hohei set the Akimichi with a stare, that signature ice of the Hyuuga that even the heat of Konoha couldn't quite melt.

Chiro bowed politely and turned to step away. Within Chiro's hearing, Sasuke casually said, "I appreciate that you've finally taken me out in public but when will I ever meet your clan members? Will I ever meet the Honorable High Sister?"

The questions marked the turning point, the beginning to the start of their break-up but Hohei could only lament that this date would be over too soon.

"It will be some time yet," Hohei said apologetically, mirroring the same argument that many a Hyuuga have had with lovers outside the clan.

"We've been dating for months," Sasuke argued. "I don't understand."

"It's complicated."

"It's clan politics," Sasuke accused as if he's heard that phrase before. "Because you're the heir, you can't marry someone like me?"

"That doesn't mean we can't love each other. Marriage is nothing more than a political alliance. It means nothing."

"So we'll never be anything more than lovers?" Sasuke claimed. "That might work for _some people_ ," Hohei was surprised by the hard edge of those words. Sasuke was referring to someone very specific and it didn't take a stretch of the imagination to figure out who. "If I can't have the all of you, then I want none of it at all."

"The Hyuuga clan have often taken lovers throughout the generations. Marriage and love doesn't have to be synonymous."

Sasuke threw his napkin atop the table, next to the untouched sushi that Chiro had painstakingly prepared. "Take me home, Hyuuga."

* * *

"That was a complete success," Tomu said as he rendezvoused with Sasuke and Hohei later that evening in their meeting room. Hawk had been following and eavesdropping on Chiro from a reserved table in the corner of the restaurant. "By closing, Chiro was already talking to his cousiin about you. By the end of the night, they were beginning to lay out plans on how to subtly approach you. From here on out the operation is a go. Which means from here on out you should start living in the apartment we rented for _Toro_.

Toro was the name of Sasuke's persona for this operation and there was an apartment with all of "Toro's" personal affects waiting for him.

Surprisingly, Sasuke found this mission to be rather easy. All he had to do was drink some wine and spout lines Tomu had him memorize. He'll be in the Akimichi compound in no time at all.

"I'm so relieved this worked out so well," Hawk said. "Crow, you did great."

"Hawk," Sasuke said, "Get some sleep."

"Yeah," Hawk nodded his head, content with a mission well done. "Good night."

The room was empty sace Sasuke and Crane. Crane moved to collect a few files to study and Sasuke watched him with a considering glance. He enjoyed tonight. Crane didn't grate on his nerves like most other people.

Kami knows Sasuke certainly didn't have the right to ask, especially not after all that he's done to the Hyuuga, but it could work. He needed something to work. "Hohei."

Crane turned his head, blank white mask reminding him that personal names were not allowed. But the tease suddenly rolled through Sasuke's gut, as bold and nonchalant a challenge as mocking a Hyuuga to sit in less than anything other than a perfect seiza. Perhaps Sasuke was always the one born for rebellion. "Hohei," Sasuke said again, daring him.

Crane swallowed and gave a low whisper, "Sasuke."

"We haven't finished our date." Sasuke left it at that, as wide-open as he could to give Hohei a choice. Then Sasuke hiraishined back his apartment.

It left Crane staring dumbfound at the empty space. Finally, Hohei decided, there was probably something wrong with him. He was like a moth to flame. It'll probably kill him, but it'll be brilliant and bright for the short time it lasted.

* * *

Sasuke didn't like Toro's apartment. Tomu had been the one to stage it and it was literally like living someone else's life. There were edited pictures of a genin team he's never been a part of. There were bookshelves of mysteries, which alright, Sasuke read one and they weren't that bad. The refrigerator was stocked with Toro's favorite ice cream flavor, and favorite vegetables, and favorite cereal.

It was strange. To be this person that doesn't exist.

Sasuke looked up at a knock on the door. He stared at it in disbelief. After an hour, he had concluded that Hohei had decided to be smart and sensible and reject his offer.

Sasuke opened the door and immediately noted Hohei had changed clothes from the formal haori to the white long-sleeved shirt and loose pants that the boy seemed to favor. He had his glasses and it wasn't until the date did Sasuke realized he had missed them. His short-cropped hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the caged bird seal a soft purple on his forehead. Hohei was unconventional and a bit-off centered like no Hyuuga Sasuke had ever met, and for some reason he found that devastatingly beautiful.

Even though the Hyuuga was here, Sasuke had to make it clear what Hohei was getting himself into. "This is your chance to turn away. Once you're through this door you're not leaving until I am done with you."

"I understand," Hohei said with perhaps better understanding than any anyone else Sasuke could have made the offer to. Sasuke eyed Hohei one last time before opening the door. Hohei crossed the threshold and scanned the small apartment.

"Isn't this place quaint," Hohei said sarcastically.

Sasuke scoffed. He headed toward the kitchen, not intentionally realizing what he was doing until he was reaching for the green tea. Whenever Hohei came over to visit Tomu, without fail, Tomu or Mushi would already have a cup of green tea waiting for him.

Sasuke fixed two cups for the both of them. He returned to the main room to find Hohei had already made himself comfortable, oddly sitting with his back to the coffee table and feet hitched atop the sofa – the same Hyuuga who wouldn't dare break a seiza in public.

It goes to show you really never knew someone, especially a clan ninja, until you see them in comfort and privacy, away from the pressures and expectations of the village, society, and most of all, their families.

Sasuke sat beside him, pressing his back against the couch and handed Hohei the tea. Thy sat in a comfortable silence. He's seen this too. Hohei never speaks while he's drinking tea. He did it so unconsciously, Hohei often cut his eyes to anyone interrupting his silence. It was more than a tradition ingrained by the Hyuuga. It was something Hohei enjoyed.

Sasuke finished his tea first and spent the rest of the time studying Hohei's face. Sasuke knew when Hohei noticed the unabashed attention when color heated on Hohei's cheeks. A second later, Hohei placed down an unfinished cup of tea onto the coffee-table, then the next, Hohei's lips were on his.

Hohei pressed in with all lust and want. Sasuke controlled the heat, fanning the flames when it lulled, and letting it simmer when it got too hot. Sasuke wanted to savor the taste of the Hyuuga's want. Hohei quickly adjusted and folded to Sasuke's tempo. They appreciated each other's mouths like a good cup of tea.

Hohei's lips were swollen when Sasuke left them. His glasses were crooked. Sasuke reached up and gingerly took off Hohei's glasses and placed them on the coffee-table. The comment Sasuke had made during their date was obviously filtering through Hohei's thoughts as the tent of Hohei's pants became more pronounced.

Sasuke tugged Hohei by his hand and led the Hyuuga into his bedroom. Sasuke gave Hohei an intent stare as he pushed the Hyuuga on the bed. "I want you to top."

Hohei blinked at Sasuke and then asked, "Are you sure?"

Logically, Sasuke would like to reason that this would be good practice for the Akimichi mission. But it was more that - he was so desperate not to scare Hohei away. And the Hyuuga, he knew because he and Sakura were talking a lot more, were natural tops. Their all-seeing byakugan never missed the prostate.

And he trusted Hohei.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked when Hohei got out of the shower and began getting dressed. Sasuke had cleaned himself up with his shirt and threw it over the edge.

Hohei looked up perplexed. "Home?"

Sasuke winced. He really shouldn't be surprised. It wasn't as if the previous times they'd had sex, Sasuke hadn't shoved the boy out of the bed or curled up far on the other end. But Sasuke will never forget Seo's terror. He could never have another ending like that again.

"Will you stay?" It sounded more vulnerable than Sasuke ever meant it to.

Hohei had his pants on. All he needed to do was grab his shirt and walk out the door.

Hohei nodded and crawled back into bed. Sasuke could feel how tense Hohei was beside him. Sasuke shifted over, and with sudden determination, wrapped an arm around Hohei's waist. Hohei released a stuttering breath but afterwards shifted back until he was completely curled and protected by Sasuke's arms.

Hohei thought the flame was going to burn him, and eventually it'll probably will, but for right now it was warm and inviting and danced light around his dreams.

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke hit the streets to establish a routine the Akimichi could follow.

It was two days later in a clothing store when Chiro Akimichi finally "bumped" into him. Sasuke had been shopping for sleeveless shirts and some shorts. The hard heat of summer was already beginning to creep into spring. He could tell it was going to be a hot summer.

Sasuke was aware of Chiro the moment he entered the store. He tracked Chiro as Chiro tracked him. It came no surprise when Sasuke turned and Chiro did so seconds later, as if counting the time in his head.

"Oh, I've seen you before. Toro isn't?"

Sasuke hadn't given his name away at the restaurant and lifted a suspicious eyebrow to emphasize the fact that hadn't escaped him. "You know my name?"

"The Akimichi knows everyone," Chiro chuckled self-consciously. Chiro motioned around him to the store. "Do you come here often?"

"I like the grade of fabric," Sasuke said casually as he rubbed his fingers over the cloth. In fact, not many ninja would be able to afford this store. You'd have to at least be a Jounin or higher to splurge on such a luxury as the Land of River's Cotton or Hot Water's silk. "I'm very particular about what touches my skin."

Sasuke could visibly see how his last comment caught Chiro off-guard. The gears behind Chiro eyes churned on his words, attempting to figure out if it was just a statement or invitation.

"It saddens me that your dinner ended before you could taste my cuisine," Chiro said. He took a pair of jeans off the rack and folded it over his arm. By the size of them, Chiro was just busying his hands. The pants were too big. Although Chiro was an Akimichi, because he was retired he didn't have to maintain the diet required for their jutsu. The man had slimmed down over the years but no one would consider him skinny either. He was broad, bones thick, and his waist twice the size of Sasuke.

"I apologize," Sasuke replied, "sometimes the taste of good food can be spoiled by bad company. I didn't mean to do you a disservice."

Sasuke nodded his head to Chiro as if in dismissal and like all the fan girls he ever had, Chiro quickly followed like a lost puppy at his footsteps. Sasuke placed a mountain of cash onto the counter and waited for it to be counted.

Chiro stood behind him in line and continued their cordial conversation. "If it wouldn't be too much burden of your time I'd like to invite you back to the restaurant."

Sasuke paused, stretched out the moment, and then asked, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

" _No_ ," Chiro raised his hand as if to say he wasn't hiding any ulterior motives. "I know you just broke up with your boyfriend. I had a break-up with mine just a few months ago. As friends."

Sasuke gave Chiro a slow analyzing glare that the man had to notice. "A shame. I was hoping for a date." That received a slack-jawed response, followed by a light brightening in Chiro's eyes. "But I'd understand if you'd want to be just friends. I was just "friends" with my Hyuuga too."

"No, that's not what I meant," Chiro said aghast. "I'd love for it to be a date. I just wasn't sure and all with what happened at the restaurant and…" Chiro cleared his throat. "Um, and I didn't know if you two were still involved."

"He and I are over." Sasuke thought the break-up at the restaurant would have been sufficient enough to convince anyone.

"Oh," Chiro said hopefully. "Just… one of my cousins was walking on the street by your house and saw the Hyuuga at your place."

So many thoughts crashed through Sasuke's head at once. It was obvious that Chiro could never be a reliable undercover ninja as his lying was terrible but this meant the Akimichi had been watching his house since the night of the date.

Thankfully, Hohei had only been over that first night as both of them had different objectives to fulfill for the operation. And much more honestly, Sasuke didn't know if he had any right to anything more than a night.

But much more importantly – "What the fuck is he talking about?" Tomu's voice suddenly came over the hidden radio (made to look like an earring) attached to Sasuke's ear. Both Sasuke and Hohei had wordlessly but very obviously agreed not to tell Tomu.

Sasuke ignored Tomu and instead gave Chiro a judgmental stare for knowing where he lived. "We were ending things."

"Ah." Chiro cleared his throat. "How about dinner at nine tomorrow night?"

The cashier finally finished ringing up his order.

"That's acceptable," Sasuke said. He hefted his bags and bowed toward Chiro. "I look forward to dinner."

Chiro Akimichi gave a glowing smile.

* * *

Sasuke recognized that inviting Hohei over had put the operation at risk. Once the dinner was over, his undercover was supposed to be in immediate effect. But of course, Tomu, who never seemed logical to Sasuke especially when emotional, didn't care about that at all.

"How could you?!" Tomu yelled, red in the face. "You promised you'd leave Hohei the fuck alone!"

There was anger and betrayal and fury in Tomu's eyes. And for a moment, Sasuke couldn't believe he had done it again. He had fucked up again without even ever trying to. So he stood in silence and left himself open to the offense of Tomu's words.

"It was mutually consensual," Hohei said once Tomu had to stop from his tirade to take a breath.

Tomu turned on Hohei with angry flailing of the arms. "He could have hurt you."

Hohei narrowed his eyes in turn. "Last week, you went to the bar to get him laid. What's the difference between a stranger and me?"

Tomu sputtered. Reason was slowly catching up. Sasuke looked down at his shoes because it was obvious that even though Tomu accepted him, he didn't trust him.

"Because I've had to watch you piece yourself back together after the war," Tomu replied hoarsely, much more vulnerable now that reason had taken his anger. "Because Sasuke is better but he's not perfect and I don't want to see you hurt."

Hohei tapped his fingers against one of the tables and then looked at Sasuke. "Do you mind giving us a moment?"

Sasuke looked between Hohei and Tomu and realized there were unresolved issues than just him. Sasuke nodded and hiraishined out of the room. Hohei set his jaw and gave Tomu patience. "The war was different. With Sasuke I had control. I could have gone to the Captain at any time and said no. It was my choice to undertake the minefield that is Sauske Uchiha as this is my choice now. Sasuke is not the Fifth Shinobi War. Sasuke is not the man my nightmares are made of. They are two different monsters."

"Hohei," Tomu said in pain, as if someone stuck a knife in his gut. "He broke all your bones and he- and he- I don't understand how you could forgive something like that."

"Because I have to." Hohei stepped forward and gently pressed their foreheads together. "Sasuke isn't that monster. I like Sasuke. I like having sex with him. It's taken me six long years to muddle through this far. I'll be alright."

Tomu broke-down, fell apart at the seams, and the last vestiges of his anger gave way to wrenching sobs. Hohei pulled him in closer and held Tomu as the grief of loss caught him hard, swift, and unexpected.

Tomu whispered hoarsely, "I can't lose you too."

"I miss her too," Hohei said softly with a break in his voice. "I miss her too."

They held each other in a tight hug until emotions left them exhausted and numb. They sat down and leaned against the wall and slowly knit themselves back together in the silence.

Then Tomu reached over and punched Hohei in the shoulder. "Dude, mission."

"I did check to see if anyone was around the house before I went in," Hohei said defensively and then dropped his shoulders. He knew that a few Akimichi could get as tall as a house and as small as a grain of rice. His byakugan could have easily overlooked the pervert. "Yeah, I fucked up. This operation is too important to make such mistakes."

Tomu scrunched his nose. "He could have been watching the both of you."

"That's disconcerting."

Tomu glanced at Hohei with dawning realization. "You two were actually flirting during the date!"

"Tomu," Hohei lingered on the name as if he was about to say something really important, "your cousin's hot."

"UGH!"

* * *

Hohei could never get the eyes right. No matter what color, how much he painted over, or blotted out in frustration, the eyes were never right. Hohei turned at a knock on the door. It wasn't dinner time and he had finished all of his chores. He activated the byakugan right as the Honorable High Sister Hinata walked into his bedroom.

"Uchiha Sasuke is at the front door. Should I have a tea room prepared for the two of you?"

Hohei refocused his sight toward the gate where Sasuke was staring down the guards as if that could physically let him in. Sasuke was wearing a henge, because of the mission, but the glare was obvious. Hohei gave a slight nod. The guards let him pass. "I seek your approval to have him join me in my bedroom? This is most likely a private conversation."

Hohei had an idea why Sasuke was here and didn't want to have this discussion with all the eyes of the tearoom. Bedrooms were deemed private and Hyuuga were supposed to try not to peek into them purposefully, but curious nieces and nosy aunts could not be helped.

"I grant you my approval but," Hinata set Hohei with a stare, "I will be watching."

She didn't trust Sasuke, with good reason, he knew. "Yes, Hinata-sama."

Once Hinata stepped out, he got up to throw a sheet over his current art project. He carried it and placed it down into the corner just as Sasuke knocked once on the door and came in.

"What do I owe the honor?" Hohei asked as he cleaned off his hands. He wondered what his bedroom must look to Sasuke, crowded in and packed with paintings stored on the floor but not hung. He had only covered the one he had been working on. It was pointless to cover the others. The clan could see anyways and he didn't think he's ever had anyone but clan in his bedroom.

Sasuke's eyes jumped from painting to painting. "I'm surprised that you paint. Isn't it a rather messy hobby for you?"

"I don't mind getting messy. I just like being clean soon afterwards," Hohei retorted.

Sasuke crouched down to examine the paintings further. They looked like abstracts of autumn colors. "Art isn't something you can copy with a sharingan."

Hohei suddenly felt very self-conscious in his private space subjected to Sasuke's scrutiny. "Any particular reason for the visit?"

"What happened during the war?" Sasuke had to know. Tomu had apologized to him earlier but Sasuke needed to know why Tomu was so protective of the Hyuuga. He had outright asked Tomu but it wasn't his secret to share. Sasuke had no qualms approaching the Hyuuga compound to find out.

"I was gang-raped by Mist ninja during the Fifth Shinobi War," Hohei said as if reading the history in his profile. Hohei sat down on the edge of his bed and stretched his toes down to the floor. "But every ninja has their story."

"That doesn't make yours any less."

"Yeah, but I'm not the guy whose entire clan was massacred by their elder brother, swore a lifetime of vengeance, and when you finally kill the guy find out he wasn't the real hand behind the kunai. Oh, not only that, but he was also the protégé of Orochimaru for two years. And he's in love with his best friend, who hates him, who will most likely never return a love that Sasuke Uchiha can't give to anyone else." Sasuke gave Hohei quite a glare, but the Hyuuga hardly felt it. Not in his room, in the heart of the Hyuuga compound, where the clan head was watching, where he was safe. "If anything, you're a comfort. It's always a reminder that there are certain levels of fucked up I haven't experienced."

Hohei could see the sudden tenseness of Sasuke's shoulders.

"You're the one who unburied old shit. If we're going to trudge through my dirt, then yours is fair game," Hohei argued.

Sasuke pointed to the painting at his feet. "Why is this one turned over?"

"Because I don't like looking at it," Hohei snarked back. It certainly wasn't an invitation to turn it over but Sasuke did it anyway.

Sasuke released a sharp breath. It was the key that unlocked the logic of all the others. It was the only painting that didn't seem to be an abstract. Half the image was framed by cracked glasses. Through the cracked lenses were the vibrant red, orange, and yellow of maple leaves. There were hidden chestnuts peeking out under the shadow of the foliage. If you looked close enough, dried blood stained the patches of leaves. But it was outside the rim that was important. Outside the rim was the blurry autumn colors that were the entire subject of many of the other paintings, but not all of them.

Sasuke looked around the room in awe. There was an abstract of green and pink but with a little bit of imagination it could be the Hyuuga gardens during the cherry blossoms bloom. There was an abstract of blue and white: clouds.

"This is how you see the world without your glasses."

"I'm half-blind. It's not anything new," Hohei sighed as he dropped back against the bed. Hohei shot back up when Sasuke walked over to the painting he had covered before Sasuke had walked in. "Has anyone ever taught you manners about touching other people's things? I haven't finished-" Hohei cringed at the sound of cloth whooping through the air.

Sasuke stared at it for a long time.

It was a portrait. It was the first portrait so it was a bit easier to discern the subject of the painting. It was blurry like all the rest but whereas all the other images were at a distance this one was considerably closer to make the defining features easily able to identify.

"It's me." Sasuke said finally. "Why?"

Hohei said as he settled back cross-legged onto his bed. "I started it after Mushi died. The intent was to paint Mushi but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I painted you instead. It was easier. And I'd never done a portrait before so it was practice."

"Something is wrong with the eyes."

"I'm working on it," Hohei snapped at the critique. Sasuke turned and looked at Hohei thoughtfully, then he reached forward and gently took off Hohei's glasses. Somehow Sasuke had made such a simple gesture a guarantee to flush Hohei's cheeks hot every time. Sasuke reached over and pressed against Hohei's chest to place the glasses onto the nightstand.

"What would you do if you broke your glasses during a mission?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"I always bring a second pair and I can still see with my byakugan. For all the failure of my eyesight, my byakugan is still one of the strongest in the clan."

"And what will you do once you've gone blind? Will your byakugan work then?"

Hohei looked up at Sasuke taken aback.

Sasuke motioned to the paintings around the room. "The scenes get blurrier. Your eyesight is getting worse. How long do you have?"

"I haven't told Tomu about this yet," Hohei said with heart pounding in his chest. He constantly forgets that perceptiveness is a Uchiha family trait. Hohei ground his teeth. "Haruno-san estimates five more years. And a few Hyuuga who have lost their eyesight due to mission related incidents, depending on the injury, have still been able to use their byakugan. Haruno-san is hopeful. But again, I'm one of the lucky ones. One of my cousins is constantly in and out the hospital because her immune system isn't very strong. My eyesight is a symptom of dangerous inbreeding. All of these problems are beginning to come to light now that Hinata-sama is clan head. Before, anyone with any sign of a defect would be immediately culled. Under the old regime, I'd already be dead."

"How did all this happen?" Sasuke asked curiously. "How does a clan change so much?"

Hohei instinctively curled against his bed and told the story of the single incident that changed the Hyuuga clan forever. Sasuke listened with apt attention, curled higher atop the bed, and every now and then slipped his fingers through Hohei's hair.

"Don't get me wrong, there's still growing pains, but the clan is better. With my failing vision, the clan is particularly concerned how I could effectively perform a clan head's duty but they still love me. They still care about me. I feel safe here. And after a long mission, there is nothing more I want than to be surrounded by family."

"I miss having a clan," Sasuke said softly. "I miss the open doors, and the unexpected visits, and the warmth. I miss the women gathering in one house and cooking a huge meal for the holidays. When someone came home from a mission you were obligated to go visit them. Mother would make a welcome home basket of cookies, take me and Itachi and go visit with whoever made it back home. And when someone died… I never really understood it until now, but the spouse or the children were more important than the person who actually died. This curse, the Uchiha were very well aware of it. We took care of each other. We kept each other from jumping off the deep-end. Captain Tiger had once said that Itachi's madness started when Shisui died. The Uchiha clan did not approve of homosexuality. If they were lovers, Itachi couldn't say anything, couldn't seek the comfort that was his right. It could have driven him to Danzou." Sasuke shrugged. "A Uchiha needs a clan."

"You have a clan," Hohei replied. "Maybe you haven't realized it yet but the Uzumaki have already adopted you. They can't help but to take in orphans. Ramen night was practically your induction ceremony."

"I am not a Uzumaki."

"You would do anything for family like a Uzumaki, you already bust into the Hyuuga compound and make yourself at home like a Uzumaki, and you're unpredictable as fuck. Those are pretty much the three defining characteristics." Hohei gently shoved against Sasuke's arm. "The Uzumaki might not be what you're used to but you're right, a Uchiha needs a clan. They probably think of you as that eccentric crazed uncle. Every clan needs one of those, you know."

Sasuke snorted as he pressed his head against the pillow in thought. It suddenly caught his attention at how dark it was outside of the window. It was only supposed to be a brief visit but he had ended up staying for hours. And he certainly didn't feel like going back to the emptiness of "Toro's" apartment.

"Can I stay over?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

_Unpredictable as fuck._

Hohei jolted up. The relaxed atmosphere suddenly broken. "What? I'm going to have to ask- would you want a guest room or- I'm not sure- what?"

It was rather amusing to find the Hyuuga completely stumbling over his words. It didn't take much effort for Sasuke to pull up and meet Hohei in a soft kiss that soon involved tongue. Clothes were stripped off soon after.

Then Hohei jolted away from Sasuke in horror. He scrambled for his dresser drawers and literally pulled them apart in search. He didn't keep lubricant in his room. Why would he need to? No one comes to his room.

Hohei activated his byakugan, grabbed a pen and notepad, and immediately scrawled the words, 'lubricant please.'

Hohei slapped it against the wall, begging, and found an uncomfortable number of people watching them. His mother scrawled in the dirt garden with her foot, 'Really? A Uchiha?'

Hinata-sama wrote from within her office, 'If you're going to have sex with him in the middle of the compound, he might as well stay over. It's the least we can do for giving everyone a show.'

'Make it a good show,' a cousin wrote.

Hohei pointed at his urgent message as if they were all idiots. Finally, his uncle sighed, slapped down the kunai he was using to prune his bonsai, and reached into his drawer for a bottle of lubricant.

Hohei sighed in relief, crossed out his earlier message, wrote 'thank you', and then set it atop the dresser. Sasuke watched this entire exchange with amusement. "Are they watching?"

"They told us to put on a good show."

"Hn," Sasuke said as he leaned forward and dragged his lips down Hohei's chest until catching Hohei's cock in his mouth.

The door opened. Hohei held out a hand and caught the bottle of lubricant as it was tossed into the room.

"You know, I lost my virginity to a Uchiha. Same genin team. Her name was-"

" _UNCLE!_ "

The uncle left chuckling but, "he left the door open," Sasuke noted.

Hohei dropped his head in exasperation. "Do you mind doing this quick? I'll make it up to you later when my mother isn't watching me have sex."

Sasuke couldn't help but snort in amusement at the situation. He hardly cared about anyone elses opinion but he found Hohei's discomfort amusing. He was actually enjoying himself more than the first night he invited Hohei over. "I figure all Hyuuga would be exhibitionist."

"Shut up." Hohei shut Sasuke up with harsh kisses. And the sex was quick and fast like two genin doing a quickie during a mission.

Hohie laid back several minutes later and huffed, "My clan is full of pervs."

"What are they writing?"

Hohei stuffed his face into the pillow. "They're disappointed I didn't show you the Thousand Years of Pleasure."

"Is that a wordplay on Kakashi's favorite move?" Sasuke asked.

"Basically it's like a Jyuuken to the prostate."

Sasuke stared at Hohei for several long moments and then said, "Now I can't wait for you to make it up to me."

Hohei blushed in sudden realization that there was going to be a next time. Hohei laughed as he sat up. "I need a bath and to change the sheets."

"Do you have something I could wear?"

Hohei glanced over at Sasuke. "You're about my size. You could probably wear my stuff." Hohei grabbed a few robes as Sasuke cleaned the cum off his chest with the sheets since they were going to be changed anyways.

They headed down toward the bath.

Sasuke was hardly surprised to find it was a clan bath. Hohei chose one of the stalls and rinsed them down thoroughly before choosing a private corner in the heated bath.

It was rather crowded as it was night time and people were preparing for bed. There more than a few subtle glances in their direction. Sasuke turned when the wheelchair Hyuuga he remembered from the wedding and Naruto's second heir came into the bath. "What's the story behind that?"

Hohei turned to both Ichigo and Haniko. "The only true way to bind two clans in an alliance is through marriage. Initially, Ame was supposed to marry someone from the Hyuuga clan but a year ago, during her first genin mission actually, Haniko was so badly injured that she lost all motor function in her legs. She was terribly depressed since the incident and Hinata-sama went to Naruto with an offer. They asked Ichigo if he wanted to fulfill the marriage alliance between the clans and to everyone's surprised he said yes. They're engaged and Ichigo somehow convinced Haniko to continue her medic-nin training. She's working as a nurse in the hospital now. We're all very proud of her."

During the story, an elder woman began to approach them. Her breasts sagged underneath the water, but her faded scars told she was a kunoichi a lifetime ago.

"Great-Aunt," Hohei bowed his head respectfully.

Great-Aunt suddenly took up Sasuke's chin and scanned his face searching.

"What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Hohei asked in concerned. Everyone in the bath was looking over at them in concern.

"Uchiha," Great Aunt said to Sasuke, as if Sasuke didn't know and it was a matter of great importance. "Your hair is red."

The tension broke through the room on waves of laughter. It was a warm laughter, one that many in Konoha would never say that the Hyuuga were capable of. But Sasuke knew from experience that a clan was more than what you saw on the outside.

"Great-aunt," Sasuke said gently, as if speaking to his own. "I am on a mission of utmost importance."

"Ah," Great Aunt exclaimed as if that explained everything. "Alright but you should put the red back in your eyes soon."

Sasuke frowned and Great Aunt could see he was visibly upset. "What's wrong, child?"

Sasuke smiled softly when her tongue lilt on the word child. It was with a careful and soft manner that all elders used with children of the clan. It brought back sudden memories that fluttered through Sasuke's chest with warmth. "I'm sorry, Nana, but I've lost the red in my eyes."

She gave out a pearly amused laugh that bubbled across the bath. "Silly, it's on your head."

Sasuke smiled. "Of course, how could I have forgotten? Thank you for finding it for me." Sasuke leaned forward and placed two kissed on her cheeks. Great Aunt gave him a three-tooth smile and waded toward the stairs on the bath.

Sasuke felt Hohei's eyes on him. Sasuke leaned back to soak.

"Sasuke," Hohei said softly. "Great Aunt stopped laughing after her son didn't make it back home from the war. Thank you."

Sasuke shrugged. They soaked for a few minutes more before climbing out. He quickly covered himself with one of Hohei's robes and waited for Hohei to follow. They returned to his room where Hohei quickly began stripping down the sheets.

"I'll be back," Hohei said as he left for the laundry.

In the empty room, Sasuke stared at the portrait of himself. Then he looked up and the moonlight casted a glow on Hinata's form as she walked into the room. She leaned against the door with her arms folded over a nightgown that revealed a growing bulge at her abdomen.

Sasuke stared at it and absorbed all it implications. Hinata's husband Neji was in the capital. That was Naruto's child. It grated on Sasuke a little that he found out this way, that neither Naruto or Tomu trusted him enough to tell him about something so obviously important in Naruto's life.

Hinata said, "I once told Naruto that you couldn't be redeemed. That you were too lost to be saved but here you are making Great Aunt laugh for the first time in years. I was wrong about you."

It was certainly a fair thing to say. Any sane person would have lost faith in him a long time ago.

Sasuke stared at Hinata in a different light now that he has heard the story of why every member in the Hyuuga clan, even the main, wear the seal.

"I was wrong about you too," Sasuke said. "I had saw you as nothing more than a stuttering incompetent heiress unable to carry the burdens of a clan. I had thought you'd be dead before you made chuunin. You're stronger than I thought you were."

"Fair," Hinata answered in turn. "This world breaks us and we're either too weak or strong enough to rebuild the pieces."

Hohei returned with an armful of covers and an alarmed expression. "Hinata-sama?"

"Good night, Hohei," Hinata said as she lifted up to kiss Hohei on the forehead. "Good night, Sasuke."

Then she walked out the room and left a sense of respect between them. A younger more immature Sasuke would have blamed Hinata, would have hated her for taking Naruto away. But that would be unfair. Sasuke was the one who had walked away. He was the one who ran from Naruto for years. Hinata wasn't the one to place the hate Sasuke saw in Naruto's eyes. Sasuke had put that there.

Hohei stared at Sasuke in concern and then began to make the bed. "What was that all about?"

Sasuke shook his head and then helped Hohei with the task. By the time they were finished, Sasuke was all the more willing to fall into the pillow that smelled like honey-lavender.

"I realize that I never asked you."

"Huh?" Hohei asked, wary.

"The Hyuuga clan haven't historically looked too favorably on homosexuality either."

Hohei shook his head. "You don't know the Hyuuga clan. Homosexuality is fine, just not for marriage. And," Hohei stretched his legs. "That was before Hinata. And its not to say everything is perfect. The older generation especially are still struggling with the division of lovers and marriage."

"No, what about you? I just… I don't even know if I'm your preference. Is this alright?"

Hohei slowly dared to wrap his arms around Sasuke's waist. Sasuke didn't shove him off and Hohei settled into the same pillow. "Life's too short to have a preference."

Sasuke shifted closer and pressed himself against the warmth of another body. Sasuke felt safe and not so alone anymore. The sound of Hohei's heartbeat sent to sleep.

* * *

Chiro Akimichi closed down the entire restaurant for their first date. Admittedly, Sasuke was a smidgen enticed by the scented candles, the rose petals, and the sheer amount of effort laid out to impress him. It was a mission, but maybe Sasuke could relax and enjoy this date like the last one.

Chiro was teaching him how to make sushi and any activity that involved the sharp end of a blade should have made Sasuke content. Which was why he was annoyed that he was not enjoying himself. Chiro's eyes were either on Sasuke's ass or judging the price of Sasuke's face. It wasn't even that open adoration of fangirls, but reminded Sasuke of that leery way Orochimaru constantly studied him to determine his value.

Sasuke winced when Chiro's hot breath chuckled in his ear. Goosebumps lit across Sasuke's skin when Chiro grabbed one of Sasuke's wrists to guide the knife.

Sasuke stared at the point of contact with a frown. And suddenly Chiro's presence was suffocating him.

"You're holding a kitchen knife as you would a kunai." Sasuke tilted his head away from Chiro's hot breath worming through his ear. "You want to slice across. Not puncture it."

Chiro guided Sasuke's hand into the motion of flailing the knife across the fresh piece of salmon. Sasuke picked up the rhythm and began cutting thinner and thinner slices. Sasuke hoped once he perfected the technique, Chiro would move away. Sasuke breathed in relief when Chiro finally did pull away from Sasuke's wrist and then stilled a moment later when Chiro placed a hand on his hip.

Sasuke was all too aware of Chiro pressing in closer and closer against him until Chiro's half-erect groin was pressing against him too. Sasuke bit his tongue and attempted to swallow down the annoyance he felt. He knew there'd be sex involved but thirty minutes into the first date was moving much faster than he was comfortable with.

Chiro's hand moved to Sasuke's crotch. Sasuke whipped around, caught his grip back on the edge of the counter and atop the handle of the kitchen knife. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said with a cold voice, "It's our first date. Shouldn't we at least make it through dinner?"

Chiro chuckled, taking it as a joke. He glanced over Sasuke like an expensive fur coat he wanted to purchase. Eventually he'll be able to own it if he threw enough money at it. "There's always an appetizer before the main dish."

Chiro placed his hand on Sasuke's cheek to pull him forward, and Sasuke exploded.

A dull thud echoed through the restaurant when Chiro face was slammed down into the sushi on the counter.

"SASUKE!"

The knife stilled in Sasuke's hand at the sound of Tomu's voice from the hidden earring radio. Sasuke's eye twitched and it took everything he had to place the knife, slowly and carefully back onto the table.

To Sasuke's surprise, Chiro nodded approvingly in his grip. "Kinky. I usually don't bottom for just anyone but maybe I can make an exception."

Chiro shoved back and his ass aligned with Sasuke's groin. Sasuke immediately dropped him and took a much needed step back.

Chiro straightened up confused. "What's wrong?"

High on emotions and mission be damned, Sasuke said as a warning, "No."

"No, you don't want to top?"

"No, I'm done with this date," Sasuke clarified.

Chiro's eyes widened, affronted, as if someone had come in through the doors, slapped him, and left. It was obvious the Akimichi wasn't told no very often. "You've bent your ass for that Hyuuga, what's the difference now? I put in a lot of fucking effort for this. The least you can do is be grateful and bend over that counter. What was all that posturing at the clothes store? Is this about money? How much money do you want?"

Fuck this mission. Sasuke refused to be bought anymore, in either money or the number of jutsu.

Chiro didn't move to follow and warned, "An Akimichi always get what they want."

At the doorway, a fire teased Sasuke's lungs. Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Sasuke, don't," Tomu said pleadingly. "Walk away."

The fire died in Sasuke's throat with a hiss of smoke. This wasn't over.

* * *

"Well," Crane said blackly, "that could have gone better."

"The Akimichi are nothing but a clan of self-entitled assholes," Hawk seethed as he paced around the operation room.

Sasuke brooded in the corner.

"How are we going to salvage this operation?" Crane asked to focus Hawk's attention. Hawk gave Crane a withering glare.

Sasuke tensed when sudden flashbacks hit him. The shadow clone he had sent to Toro's apartment, just in case Chiro came following after, had dismissed itself. "My shadow clone just informed me that the landlord came down. Someone just bought out my apartment. I have to move out immediately."

"Are you serious?!" Hawk sputtered. Even Crane tensed.

Then Sasuke added with a tired sigh. "My shadow clone just informed me that when he tried to go pay for a hotel room, his account number isn't working. Apparently, Toro is suddenly broke."

Sasuke knew how much money Tomu put into this operation as a precaution to keep the money from leading to the government or Naruto. The sheer fact that they had the audacity to do something like this, meant they certainly had the power and resources to try and kill Naruto.

Had he done the wrong thing? Had he let his anger and pride ruin the mission?

"This is good," Crane reasoned. "Chiro is giving you no choice but to go groveling back to him. He's still interested. The operation is salvageable."

"Are you crazy? No, Crow is not going back to that."

Sasuke dully watched as they went back and forth. Then he pushed himself off the wall, grabbed a hiraishin kunai, and went home.

* * *

Home was apparently the Uchiha-Uzumaki compound. His feet had refused the turn toward Toro's apartment and kept passing Tomu's apartment. It was night out and the door of the compound was open. He went straight to the forge and worked until he was burning with exhaustion.

His arms sore and eyes burning with smoke, Sasuke stepped outside to get some air and noticed a light coming from Naruto's workshop. His feet compelled him forward and toward the wide-open double doors that were normally sealed shut to prevent the kids from getting in. Sasuke found Naruto sitting in the middle of paperwork and an army of shadow clones.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto gave a mischievous smile, in lighter spirits than Sasuke has seen him recenty. "Do you know why I'm an expert at Fuuinjutsu?"

Sasuke decided to humor him. "No, I don't."

"Because I make small adjustments to the seals and use shadow clones to test them all at once. Sasuke wondered why Naruto was telling him this.

Then the entire workshop blew up.

Sasuke crouched down to avoid the rolling smoke. When he looked up the entire workshop was caved in. Naruto coughed as he crawled out of the wreckage and asked his army, "Anyone alive?"

Several hands went up in the air. There were several clones with purple hair, others with pink polk-a-dots freckling the skin, and others who were glowing from the inside like a firefly.

Naruto scanned all of his clones and smiled at the one who showed all three attributes. Naruto slapped the clone on the shoulder with a shit-eating grin. "Ame is going to have the best morning."

Sasuke shook his head at the intense prank rivalry between Naruto and his daughter. It was frightening at the best of times. And it explained Naruto's good mood.

Naruto ordered his mutated clones to rebuild the workshop. Sasuke watched the clean-up. "Do you actually do work?"

"If you mean blowing myself up several thousand times, then yeah, its work." Naruto laughed. "How did everything go today? I try to keep out of Tomu's affairs because he gets antsy when I'm looking over his shoulder but there was an important mission today?"

Sasuke tucked his hands in his pants. He suddenly felt inferior to Naruto's insane brilliance and achievements. He's never felt so utterly unequal to Naruto before. "I failed the mission."

"Oh," Naruto waved a hand as if it didn't matter. "I'm sure you guys will figure something else out."

Sasuke didn't know what was worse – Naruto subtly trying to cheer him up or deflect attention away from the fact that this was the first time he had ever failed a Konoha mission.

Sasuke knew he shouldn't ask, but he did anyway. "How did you do it? The mission with Iraiya? How come you never walked away?"

Naruto's good cheer drifted away on a breeze of warm wind and left cold air in its place. After some thought, "I guess we need to talk about it."

He motioned toward Sasuke. Sasuke dropped in step beside Naruto as they walked a patrol around the compound.

"I couldn't walk away," Naruto said softly. "Hinata knew it. She tried to force me out but I couldn't because I knew if it wasn't me, you'd only be hurting someone else. And it was more than just the stuff between us, I was the Hokage. You were the way you were partially because of Konoha. If you hurt anyone that was Konoha's responsibility." Naruto rubbed his hands over his face. "I couldn't walk away."

"I could have killed you."

"It was a shadow clone."

"It still hurts eventually."

Naruto laughed. "Sasuke, I blow my clones up on a daily basis. My pain tolerance is fairly high." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Everything that happened on that mission, I don't blame you. It was my choice to take it on. That's on me. It was a mission."

Sasuke jolted when Naruto suddenly nudged his arm with his elbow. Sasuke's eyes glanced down at the contact, like a tingle of electricity through his arm. Naruto continued, "If you've got to take the out there's no shame in that. Because in the end, there's got to be something worth keeping you in. For some people its family, or Konoha, or the will of fire. You've got to find something worth fighting for."

"What are you fighting for?"

"Family," he said immediately. Then Naruto paused more thoughtfully. "I've put so much of myself into this. I can't bear it to fail. I'm the Hokage. I can't run away if I make a mistake. The only option is to keep fighting."

Sasuke bowed his head in thought and casually circled the rest of the compound. Once they reached the gate, Naruto asked, "You better?"

It was odd how Naruto could just look at him and tell something was wrong. Since he moved out the compound things have been more amiable between them and Naruto was more willing to give him a chance to prove himself.

He couldn't fail this one with the Akimichi.

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. "I'm better."

* * *

Chiro Akimichi lived in an expensive loft in the middle of the new district sprouting over the heads of the Kage Mountain. The front door opened to Chiro's knowing smile and a glass of wine in one hand.

"It seems I've run into a streak of bad luck," Sasuke stated frankly. Sasuke shoved his shoulder to emphasize the duffel bag he carried. "I need a place to stay."

"I'm sorry but I only allow family and significant others to stay over."

Sasuke physically shoved Chiro from the door and grumbled as he stepped into the loft. Chiro caught him by the arm. Sasuke immediately began to twist out of his grip but had to force himself to stop. Chiro pulled Sasuke into a kiss that was hot and wet and demanding. Chiro intentionally tested the edges of Sasuke's control as his hand crawled up Sasuke's ass. Once he was certain Sasuke wasn't going to snap back, Chiro released him.

It's as if the guy got off dancing with caged lions.

Chiro gave a smug grin and his eyes roved over Sasuke, as if he was finally sealing the deal for a hard buy. "You know, you're a lot of trouble but you're worth every ryo."

Tomu was right. This guy was a self-entitled arrogant idiot. And this mission was much more bearable with the realization that Sasuke didn't have to pretend to like the guy. Chiro wanted him for his looks, not his personality.

Sasuke huffed as he pushed his way further inside. The architecture of the house was like nothing Sasuke had ever seen before. The décor was unsurprisingly the clan colors: courant and grey. The living room was spacious and adjoined a detailed and complicated kitchen Sasuke found much more intimidating than its owner. There was a twist of stairs that led to a half-level bedroom that overlooked the rest of the space.

The wall-length windows gave a stunning view of Konoha, overlooking a park that led to the back of the Kage heads and then the village that spanned out underneath it. It was a view for the gods and perfectly served to further feed Chiro's ego.

"Wine?" Chiro asked. He poured Sasuke a glass without waiting for a response. Sasuke picked up the wine glass, poured it down the sink, and made him a much stronger glass of whiskey.

"I understand you've recently been promoted to chuunin? Congratulations."

Sasuke glanced over at Chiro, who was no longer making an effort to hide that he had already gone through all of the paperwork in the Kage's office. According to Toro's profile, he had been sent on a long-term mission directly after graduating and received a field promotion to chuunin on his return back to Konoha.

"Thanks," Sasuke said flatly.

"I can't even imagine being away from Konoha long-term. How long is your leave until your next mission?"

"A few months so I won't have any income of my own until then. I am completely at your mercy," Sasuke responded with poorly veiled sarcasm.

Chiro huffed amused at Sasuke's frankness. He promised, "I'll take care of you. You have the protection of the Akimichi clan now. You'll see the benefits in it soon and come to appreciate our graciousness."

"Gold diggers and whores, you mean."

"You are neither one of those things. I chose you because you were worthy of my attention and anything worthy of my attention deserves the best." Chiro reached forward and brushed his fingers across Sasuke's face. He said thoughtfully, "When I first saw you, I figured you for an ero-ninja. Any ninja that looks like you typically are. But you are much too… blunt for their type of subtlety."

Sasuke sighed, tired of all this hot air. "Can we just fuck so I can get some sleep?"

Chiro looked at Sasuke as if he was this rare artifact. "I couldn't have said it with any less tact." Chiro put down his empty glass of wine and led Sasuke upstairs.

Sasuke felt he shouldn't have been surprised to find the entire bed surrounded by mirrors. Sasuke twisted his hand into Chiro's shirt and then physically shoved him into the bed. Chiro only smiled with eyes glittering in anticipation.

* * *

Sasuke looked up at his reflection in the mirror on the ceiling. He was alone in the bed and the Akimichi had gone to work. Sasuke didn't know what it said about him that sex last night wasn't that bad. Because evidently hate sex was a thing. And the Akimichi had every reason to be as sexually smug as they were. Nevertheless, Chiro reminded him too much of Orochimaru and that made him uncomfortable.

When Sasuke finally got up, he found Chiro had thrown away all of the clothes Toro had brought over and had bought him an entire new wardrobe. The bathtub was huge, set in marble and granite, and Sasuke casually upturned the entire bubble-bath of honeydew into the water until it was emptied. Then he soaked in the bath for hours.

When Sasuke tied the satin robe around his waist he groaned as deeply as he did last night. The feel of the silk across his skin was expensive, like chocolate melting over strawberries. He decided he was going to steal it.

Sasuke dragged himself downstairs and found a wrapped present on the kitchen island. It was just like Orochimaru, who gifted him jutsu instead of presents. Sasuke picked up the present and dropped it in the trash.

Then he created a shadow clone that discreetly snuck out to let Tomu know he was alright.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK, SASUKE?" Hawk literally yelled at him when the shadow clone appeared in the ANBU workplace. "I told you I was going to figure something out."

"I did what I had to do." Sasuke hated those words.

"But you went in without any support whatsoever. What if something had happened?"

Sasuke crossed his arms. "I haven't killed him," _yet_. Sasuke had no doubt that when all was said and done, despite Tomu or Naruto, he was going to kill Chiro.

"I'm serious. We're a team. You're not in this alone."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be fine. The guy's an idiot."

Tomu dragged shaky fingers through his hair. "I don't like this Sasuke. But I know how important this mission has the potential to be. Be careful."

* * *

It was the Annual Business Gala for New Entrepreneurs in Konoha. Every business owner in Konoha was invited to attend. Most didn't bother to going unless they were winning an award or making connections but it was the first primarily civilian event Sasuke had been to in a long time.

None other than Chiro Akimichi was catering the food, although he was at most, overseeing his workers at a distance. He was too busy showing off his new eye-candy to his business associates and family to really be involved in the food preparation. Chiro never actually introduced Sasuke, as it was obvious Sasuke wasn't supposed to talk, but Chiro was definitely flaunting him around.

"Yes, the fish have been great this season. Business has definitely been good," Chiro laughed while Sasuke pretended to be bored but was very astutely studying everyone in the room.

"Chiro," An Akimichi judging by his facial tattoos, approached them and completely cut off the previous conversation with two business associates. "Is this is your new squeeze? Fucking hot."

"Taisho," Chiro said with the brisk annoyance of dealing with a sibling or close cousin. "This is Toro." Chiro motioned toward Taisho's date, a very tall statuesque blonde with curves in every place. "I'm sorry. You change yours up so often I can never remember their name."

Taisho shrugged off the introductions. "I'll get a new one by the end of the week." Then Taisho gave a teasing laugh, "Maybe yours?"

"Not funny," Chiro seethed.

Taisho turned to Sasuke, the first person to directly address Sasuke all evening. "Did Chiro tell you how our cousin stole his last boyfriend and they were married within the month?"

That explained a lot.

"He failed to mention," Sasuke gave a flat reply. Chiro's grip on Sasuke's hand tightened while Chiro sent silent death threats to his relative.

An elder woman sidled over to them and at once, Chiro and Taisho gave submissive bows. Much akin to how Hohei bowed before Hinata, with love and respect. She glanced over him as if he was just a pretty decorative statue in the room and turned back to Chiro and Taisho. Then she stopped and turned back to Sasuke once more.

Her hand shot out and without permission, grabbed his chin with a hard hold. For a single moment, Sasuke was afraid he had been busted. He could sense her feeling for his chakra, checking for a henge, for anything not right.

She said slowly, "Your chakra feels familiar."

"Maybe we've met before," Sasuke said with a shrug. He remembered her picture from the files. She's one of the few sensors to ever come out of the Akimichi clan. She was retired now and the business head of the Akimichi Clan.

The Matron scoffed, scrutinizing him one more time and decided she was unimpressed. "I doubt that."

"Akimichi-sama." Heads turned at the sudden approach of none other than Naruto, whose sharp ears probably warned him of Sasuke's distress. There were sudden deep bows, of which Sasuke reminded himself to do several seconds later that did not go unnoticed.

It needed to be addressed. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama. The last time I was in Konoha Hiruzen was still the Kage. It's still taking some time to get used to."

"I understand." The Hokage grinned as he scanned the crew of Akimichi. Naruto turned to the elder woman, as if the other two were inconsequential, "Akimichi-sama, it's nice to see you in good health."

"You as well, Hokage-sama. And where is your date tonight?"

Naruto grinned. "My date is currently stuffing herself with the delicious sushi being catered here."

Chiro puffed his chest up like a pufferfish. Sometimes you had to admire the way Naruto worked people. Sasuke could instill all the fear he wanted but to have someone to believe in him and to have faith in him wasn't easy.

Behind Naruto, Ame Uzumaki was indeed stuffing her face with sushi. It was common for her to be Naruto's date and plus-one to all official functions. "As my date is currently busy would you do me the honor of a dance?"

"I'm afraid these old knees of mine won't keep up."

"We'll go slow." Naruto chuckled and placed an intimate hand around the old woman's waist. The elder kunoichi moved forward and proved she could dance a waltz with as much finesse as the Hokage.

"That guy is smooth as fuck," Taisho muttered as the date on his arm swooned.

Taisho's date spoke for the first time that night. "He seems to be everything they say he is."

"Don't get your hopes up. I'm still of the opinion he's gay."

"He had a fiancé," Chiro pointed out.

"That was a political marriage. And he killed her."

"So they say," Taisho's date interjected.

"Maybe he's asexual? I mean, you don't even hear rumors of the guy sleeping around."

"Maybe he uses a henge," the date said. "A guy has needs. Maybe we've slept with the Hokage and have not even known it."

"It's fucking weird," Taisho pointed out. "It's been six years, the guy is not married, hasn't even seemed interested, and is literally the most desired bachelor in Konoha. It's the biggest mystery of our age."

It's as good a segue way as Sasuke was going to get. "I heard someone tried to assassinate him while I was still out of Konoha."

"Some stupid Mist ninja fuck."

"I liked Hiruzen better," Sasuke nonchalantly added.

Taisho nodded in agreement. "Yeah, all the old folks reminisce back to the days of Hiruzen. He was more likely to stick his head in his ass. Uzumaki is too much of a goody-two shoes. Can you believe he wants to downsize the red lights district? I mean, whores! Who doesn't love whores?!" Taisho punctuated his statement by slapping his date on the ass.

Several heads swiveled in their direction at that.

"I'm not a whore," Taisho's date replied tersely.

Taisho patted patronizingly atop the large diamond ring on his date's finger as if saying, 'Of course you are, I own you, now shut up.'

Chiro took a dark drink of his champagne, narrowed his eyes, and suddenly dragged Sasuke with him to the other side of the ballroom. Chiro was making a bee-line toward a specific person, and Sasuke was surprised to find Mizumi, in a dress, at the other end. The foul-mouthed terrible sushi shop owner was the last thing Sasuke expected to see at such an upscale function.

"Houzuki," Chiro said with a sneer.

"Akimichi," Mizumi said with much more amused sneer. Then she noted Sasuke. By the look of her face, she obviously recognized him despite the red hair.

Chiro noticed her dumbstruck looked. "This is my boyfriend, Toro. I see even you've noticed him despite your lack of taste."

"Toro," Mizumi said with a sharp-toothed smile. Sasuke gave her a slight shake of the head hidden in a quick bow. "Of course I had to come. The gala continues to get more interesting every year."

"If it was up to me I wouldn't have let you get through the door. You're a disgrace to sushi chefs everywhere and the art of the cuisine."

Mizumi rolled her eyes in exasperation as if she had heard all of this before.

"There's no way you're even making a profit and yet you stay open despite diminishing sales. You're _losing_ money," Chiro said as if he couldn't comprehend the concept.

"Perhaps I wouldn't be losing money if your clan didn't bully all my customers away."

"Your sushi was enough to do that."

"You're just angry that I can't be bought like everyone else in Konoha."

Chiro leaned forward with a threatening whisper, "But you can die like everyone else."

Mizumi glanced at Sasuke, and then at Chiro with a smirk. "We'll see who dies first." Mizumi pulled away with a knowing swagger.

"Stupid mist ninja bitch," Chiro grumbled under his breath. "She gives all itamae chefs a bad name. Let's go him. This event has bored me."

* * *

It took three long-suffering months, two galas, five business dinners, and several inane dates to finally receive an invitation from the Akimichi compound.

Sasuke looked up at the compound that rivaled the Daimyo's palace. It was the center of the most prestigious area of Konoha where the richest of the civilian elite lived. If money and wealth was the Akimichi's clan emblem, they flaunted it as proudly as a Hyuuga or Uchiha.

Chiro gently pressed his hand into the arc of Sasuke's back. "It's impressive, isn't?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. After witnessing the entire massacre of his clan, he knew that the walls and buildings meant nothing. Sasuke enjoyed the finer things in life but he could never live like this: in such extravagant and meaningless opulence. Power to him was the amount of ninjutsu you could perfect. It was hard for Sasuke to accept that the definition of power was the amount of money you could wield.

Sasuke tensed when he felt a sudden pressure against his skull. He immediately recognized it as a Yamanaka intrusion. Without hesitation, Sasuke immediately began clearing all thoughts of nothing but scenes of sex with Chiro.

"Ack!"

Sasuke glanced over and noticed a young Akimichi lounging at the compound gate, suddenly rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. Sasuke wasn't surprised to find an Akimichi-Yamanaka hybrid and had prepared himself accordingly but this one wasn't in their files. The teen's Yamanaka abilities were unregistered with the government.

Chiro gently tugged on the new yukata he had bought Sasuke for the evening and led him toward a glass fountain of diamond butterflies chasing a trail of water. Chiro looked back toward the front of the mansion that acted as the main house, and back toward Sasuke. "I know you hate me but could you pretend to like me just for dinner?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He knew an opportunity when he saw one. "After dinner, I want all of the money you stole from my bank account back in it."

Chiro stiffened, then hung his head with a nod. "I'll put in a little extra."

"No, the same amount. I don't want your money. I want my money." Or more accurately, Tomu's money.

"Deal." Chiro held out his hand. Sasuke met him in the middle and shook on it.

Then Sasuke wrapped himself around Chiro's arm and headed toward the glittering gilded doors. They walked underneath an archway of jewels. If the Akimichi could buy the stars, this was their best attempt. Discreetly, Sasuke reached into the folds of his sleeve and dropped a small toad into the garden. The green toad was immediately lost in the grass.

The clan emblem was painted into the black marble of the walkway. Grins and smiles greeted them as they reached the door. The smell of food immediately assaulted Sasuke's nose.

They were in the middle of Konoha's summer heat and by the time they reached the door, Chiro had already sweated through the expensive fabric of his tuxedo. A butler took Chiro's coat at the door. Tomu had previously considered going undercover as the hired help but they were typically relatives of those who married into the clan in need of a job.

"Is this a special celebration?" Sasuke asked. It seemed like a lot of fanfare for just a normal dinner.

"No, it's just dinner." Chiro guided Sasuke into the grand ballroom where tables and tables of food were stretched out in all directions. The atmosphere was festive and lively and filled with laughter. It was as if the Akimichi were on holiday every day.

Sasuke always wondered how much food it took to support a clan on the Akimichi's diet. Apparently, a lot. It made sense, this clan needed something other than missions to financially support their diet so they branched out into various other businesses. Except now they have as much money as they need and more.

But before they could eat, Chiro had to first introduce Sasuke to the heads of the clan. Currently only Chouji was there for dinner. Sasuke hoped that Chouji would not recognize him even though he barely did himself these days. Chouji Akimichi was playing with a red-haired dark-skinned girl giggling happily on his lap.

Chiro approached with a bow and Sasuke followed. "Honorable Brother, I would like to introduce you to my fiancé."

_What?!_

Chouji's eyes lit up, his cheeks slightly red from drink, as he tumbled out of his chair and instead of greeting Sasuke with a bow, shoved Sasuke into his arms instead. Sasuke wobbled out of the man's crushing hug. "Welcome to the family."

"I'm honored," Sasuke said respectfully.

"Please," Chouji spread his arms out to the bounty of food that could feed a village. "Make yourself at home. I'm so glad that Chiro has found someone who can make him happy. He took his ex rather hard."

"Chouji," Chiro complained embarrassed. He quickly tugged Sasuke in the other direction toward the food and two empty chairs.

"That's his kid?" Sasuke asked curious.

Chiro looked back at the dark-skinned child Chouji was now carrying on his hip. "Oh yeah. It was quite the scandal when Karui came up pregnant but she had to return to Cloud because she's a Clan Head back home and has another kid there from an arranged marriage," Chiro laughed. "It's quite the mess. But I guess it made Nii-san happier than Ino ever did."

"Huh?"

Chiro shook his head. "You are two centuries late on gossip. Yeah, Ino and Chouji were married for about a year but they were a bad mix – like water and fire. I think Ino's kid, Inojin is the same age as Chocho."

Sasuke has been in Konoha for almost a year and he was just now finding out Ino has a kid. But I guess he never really cared enough to know how the years have treated the rest of Konoha 11. "Ino has a kid?"

"No one knows who the father is. Not even the Yamanaka clan knows who the father is." Chiro shrugged his shoulders as if it was all old news.

Once they reached the largest table, Chiro had to do a hundred more introductions. Sasuke was swept up in a hundred more other greetings, meeting aunts and cousins and uncles, all with the annoying habit of crushing hugs.

One aunt, a small stocky woman giggled as she blatantly patted Sasuke's abs. "Oh my, Chiro, he is so handsome."

Chiro had to save him… or rather save his aunt from a raikiri to the face. Then Chiro tensed beside him. "Chijori. Minho."

Chijori was one of the largest Akimichi Sasuke has ever seen. Minho was wind-swept, olive skinned, and had an exotic look about him. Even Minho's words were seasoned with a foreign accent. By the tight grip Chiro had on Sasuke's ass, this was obviously the ex.

Chijori gave Sasuke a very lewd once-over, top to bottom. "He's pretty, I guess."

"I upgraded. I'm actually delighted that you took the old one off my hands. Hope you're enjoying my leftovers," Chiro spat before forcefully tugging Sasuke behind him.

Sasuke was exhausted by the time he collapsed into a chair. Chiro said fuck the wine and poured himself a heavy concentrated shot of sake. It became all the more obvious that Chiro was a man heartbroken and in love. Chiro watched Minho all evening with devastation in his eyes.

Sasuke observed the room and immediately noted that the Akimichi were a clan that rarely married inside. Instead they married doctors, lawyers, and accountants. They married movie stars, opera stars, and princesses from far-way lands. Within their own little world, the Akimichi were their own kind of royalty.

* * *

The frog hopped through the open window into the bathroom. Then a hand shot out of the open mouth. Hawk lifted himself up and crawled out of the toad summon.

Hawk pressed two fingers to the radio in his ear. "Crane, copy. I've made it in."

"The hallway is clear. Turn right."

Hawk nodded and dully wondered why anyone would need a full blown aquarium in their bathroom. Hawk snuck out of the bathroom, sharingan activated, and crept down the dark shadows of the hallway.

"Left. Stop." Hawk waited behind a statue of the first Akimichi, the inventor of the very first food pill, as someone walked past him unaware down the hall.

"Clear. Right. Left. Room empty."

Hawk slithered into the Clan Head's study. He immediately began to set up various recording radios throughout the room. It was technology only available right now to ANBU but Hawk wouldn't be surprised if the Akimichi had access to a few.

Hawk scanned his sharingan over the Clan Head's desk and looked for anything of interest. Nothing. He wasn't surprised. Crane had already checked the compound visually for incriminating evidence. "Finished with objective Blue, moving on to Green."

Now he was going to bug as many rooms as possible before dinner was over. After dinner, there would be too much traffic in the hallways to remain undetected.

"Wait, Hawk," Crane said suddenly. "The Clan Head is meeting with the Matron in a private study. Could be of interest."

"Copy."

Hawk climbed two flights of stairs. He pressed against an adjacent wall and pasted a premade seal Naruto had invented onto the wall. He activated the seal with chakra. The voices within the room were suddenly amplified and could be heard clear in the hallway.

"I just need more time. At least until the Jounin Exams."

"No Chouji, you have failed." The woman's voice was cold and berating.

After a tense moment of silence, Chouji begged, "the Jounin exams, please, give me until then."

"Don't fail this clan."

Hawk ripped the seal from the wall right before Chouji stormed out of the doors. The Akimichi Head was angrier than Tomu had ever seen the jovial man. Hawk had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Hawk had always wanted to believe that the man Naruto invited over for holiday parties had nothing to do with any of the treachery. But now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Hawk took a deep breath and knew he had to make a move. The Matron was a sensor. She'd notice him lingering eventually.

Hawk snapped forward and charged into the tea room. The Matron snapped her head up from a cup of tea. The moment their eyes met, Hawk had her caught in a genjutsu. He casually laid her across the couch, adjusting her, to make it seem she had just fallen asleep.

'No one was here,' Hawk told the genjutsu on a loop as he quickly got to work setting up the radios. He placed one right underneath the matron's chair.

"Dinner is winding down. You need to get out of there," Crane reported over the radio.

Hawk cursed. He hadn't planted as many bugs as he wanted to but he didn't want to risk the mission. He took out his hiraishin kunai and teleported out the Akimichi clan compound with none the wiser.

* * *

Hawk thoughtfully circled the Matron, the Business Head in red. "I think she's the center of everything."

"Hawk," Crane argued. "That conversation you overheard was vague at best. You have no idea what they were talking about."

"I saw how angry Chouji looked. They're obviously opposed on something. And it makes sense that it's the Matron manipulating things. From all the conversations Crow has had with the other members, it's the business side who are irate with Naruto so it makes sense if the Business Head has taken matters into her own hands."

"Should we approach Chouji?" Sasuke asked. He had returned to the operation room once he put Chiro's drunken ass to bed.

"No," Hawk said with a hint of anger. "If we could trust Chouji how come he hasn't come to Naruto about all of this? If he's in the know, how come he hasn't said anything? If Chouji is somehow in on it then I don't trust any of them."

"So what you're saying is that you've given up on trying to turn any member of the clan?" Crane asked.

Hawk turned to Crow. "What do you think?"

"I think as long as it's good for business, no one cares," Sasuke answered. "Outing the Akimichi threatens their money and even those married-in know not to mess with that. They know how important money is and they know someone higher on the Akimichi food chain won't hesitate to crush them. I'm not optimistic on finding someone further on the inside."

Hawk sighed. "It's about time for Toro's leave of duty to be over. The Hokage will give him an imaginary mission, which should give Crow a much needed vacation. Over the course of the next few weeks, the three of us will take turns listening in on the radios. In the meantime, I'll try to think of another angle we haven't exploited."

The ANBU nodded their heads in understanding.

"You're both dismissed."

* * *

Because Toro was supposed to be 'away on a mission,' the only places Sasuke had access to was the ANBU underground and the Uzumaki compound. Tomu's old apartment was too risky but the compound was guarded from interlopers and nosy neighbors. Naruto had begrudgingly agreed to let Sasuke stay, for the meantime.

There was nothing like home.

By mid-morning the next day, Sasuke had already sweated through his shirt. The summer heat had him avoiding the forge. He was curled outside, his back against one of the support beams of the engawa, and hoping a breeze might sweep through soon.

The shoji door slid open and Hohei leaned against the opening with a pair of Sasuke's pajama's pants around his hips. The heat had Hohei's skin an almost startled red. Even though Sasuke had pale skin, he didn't know if it was a Uchiha trait, but his skin never reacted so violently to the sun.

"Want breakfast?" Hohei asked. Hohei lifted a towel to wipe at the sweat gathering on his forehead. Today's humidity was outright torturous. Sasuke could only imagine that the ex-mist ninja clans were dying right about now.

Sasuke tapped his book and asked, "how do you increase the amount of chakra an item can conduct?"

Sasuke's last attempts at making a sword had been a failure. It was of poor quality and could only conduct a small amount of chakra. But it was too hot to try again. Instead, he went back to review his notes and came up empty.

"Depends on the mass and what material is conducting it," Hohei answered thoughtfully. "You're trying to figure out how to fix kusanagi?"

"Hn."

"You know, Tenten's family produces chakra-conducting kunai. You should ask her."

"That would include explaining who I am and why I want it. She doesn't do favors for just anyone. Tenten is sharp." Then Sasuke looked at Hohei curiously. "You could ask her for me."

Hohei coughed, then finally said, "Tenten and I have history. Would be rather awkward."

Sasuke turned to fully look at Hohei. Sasuke and Hohei weren't exactly dating nor were they exactly exclusive. Its not as if they've had a talk about it but it was overtly understood. Sasuke asked, darkly amused, "You and Tenten?"

Hohei rolled his eyes behind his foggy glasses. "We still meet up every few months or so. Every time I see her we kind of… And you and I haven't exactly talked about what this is."

Or Sasuke thought it was overtly understood. Sasuke waved a heat-drained hand. "Fuck whoever the else you want."

Sasuke certainly wasn't looking for a _relationship_ and he had the sense Hohei was the same in that regard.

"Anyways, you should still go see her," Hohei suggested.

"I'll figure it out." Sasuke dismissed the advice. Sasuke slapped his book down. He leaned back against the beam, sun right in his eyes, and sweat sliding down his neck.

Hohei pre-emptively grumbled, "I told you so."

* * *

Hawk shoved up his mask to wipe at his tired eyes. He couldn't wait for Crane to take over next shift of the radio. Thus far, the conversations have been nothing but inane. He did know how the Matron liked her tea. Sometimes the job was all danger and intrigue, and sometimes it was patience.

Hawk suddenly piqued his head when the Matron ordered her son to gather the others. Apparently, they needed to talk.

Hawk jolted up in his chair. Nothing like this had ever occurred in the last few days. He needed eyes on that room now. But shit, Crane was off-duty and he didn't have his radio on him. The Hokage could summon him by Crane's ANBU tattoo but Hawk couldn't.

Hawk made the immediate decision to set the equipment to recording. It'll probably take a while to gather everyone for the Matron. Then he used a hiraishin kunai to take him to the kunai Hohei was supposed to always carry on him.

Tomu slipped on Hohei pants on the floor. The hiraishin kunai in the pocket went skittering across the room as Tomu fell head-first in the open door of the bathroom.

"OH KAMI, MY EYES!" Tomu screamed and crushed the edges of his palms against the mask, as if that could erase the crushing sight of Hohei and Sasuke having sex in the shower.

"Stop whining. The glass was fogged. You didn't see anything," Hohei said as he reached for the knob. Sasuke was very disgruntled when Hohei turned the water cold to kill their boners.

"I saw enough."

"You've seen me naked plenty of times."

"In the bathhouse. On a mission. _Not like that_." Tomu could thank Kami that he didn't have his sharingan active.

"Tomu, go outside. Close the door. We'll be out in a minute."

Tomu didn't hesitate to do as he was instructed. Boner effectively slaughtered, Hohei stepped out the shower and grabbed a towel. He looked over at Sasuke. "I am convinced that your entire clan is filled with drama queens."

Sasuke threw a bar of soap at Hohei's head before getting out and toweling off. He was the one more disgruntled about the interruption because he was the one getting a blowjob.

They didn't take long because they knew this was probably important. It took only a minute for Hohei to drag a towel through his hair, wash out his mouth, walk into the bedroom, put on his pants and turn to Tomu, "What?"

"Akimichi. I need your eyes. We need to get back to the room now."

Because it seemed Tomu needed Hohei more then he needed him, Sasuke went back into the bathroom, jerked off, and then got dressed. About ten minutes later, Sasuke put on his ANBU mask and hiraishined into the operation room.

Hawk gave Sasuke a flat stare when he appeared. "They're still gathering everyone into the room. Evidently they had to call in people who were halfway across Konoha."

"So you interrupted my blowjob for nothing?" Sasuke asked flatly.

" _OHMYFUCKINGKAMISASUKE!_ " Tomu shouted with flailing arms. There was the slight tease of a smile on Sasuke face as he dropped down into the chair next to Tomu. As far as Sasuke was concerned this was payback for all the time he had to overhear Tomu and Mushi. Hohei was writing down a list of names, occasionally glancing up at the board where Tomu had everyone's picture. Sasuke elbowed Tomu and motioned toward the list. "He's writing down everyone who comes into the room."

"What is it Grand Matron?" One of the Akimichi asked now that everyone had been gathered.

"We can no longer trust Chouji with the safety of the clan. We're going to have to take matters into our own hands."

Someone else replied, "I know Chouji hasn't succeeded but I still think his is the right course. There are too many unforeseen deaths if we try to assassinate the Hokage. Trying to vote him out of office is the safest route."

"No," the Matron commanded. "Chouji has failed. His failure allowed _Orochimaru_ to steal the bombs our clan smuggled into Konoha."

"The bombs were supposed to discredit Naruto and provide evidence of negligence. They weren't supposed to actually hurt people," someone else argued.

"The Cloud Handover was a failure. Inciting the Mist Clans was a failure. Furthermore, someone almost got close and drastic measures needed to be taken. No more turning corners. The Demon Fox needs to die. If you don't agree and want to continue to support Chouji's softer and ineffective approach, then you can leave the room," the Matron challenged.

"No one left," Crane reported.

"I am done bowing down to the Demon Fox. He declared war on us first when he took our drug money. He's taking _our_ money - our money for our children and our spouses and generations that come after us. I am done with Chouji's platitudes. We will do what we have done with every other business competitor. We will take him out."

"What's the plan?" Someone asked reluctantly.

"Do you remember when Orochimaru put the Hokage in the hospital, enough to need surgery? All the nurses were ordered to have a memory wipe of the surgery. I had been wondering what was so important that it needed to be forgotten. One of the nurses had an unfortunate accident and she's been in our custody ever since. It took months but Shintaro was finally able to reconstruct the memories that Ino had wiped."

"What did you find?"

"Children, the Hokage is not as invincible as we once thought. He has sealed off the Kyuubi to the point where he can no longer use its chakra anymore. All we have to do is release the information. The Akimichi clan doesn't have to do anything. Uzumaki has enough enemies to do the job for us. The Hokage will die and we won't have to ever lift a finger. Furthermore, no one will ever know it was us."

"That's brilliant. When will we begin to enact this plan?"

"It's already done. Chijiro and Iwao dispersed the agents on my order months ago ever since we cracked that nurses' head. It's taken this long to get our agents into position. I want everyone to be prepared for what's coming and in case of war, I want everyone to being moving our assets to safer accounts. By morning, everyone from Iwa to Ame will know that our Demon Fox is no longer a demon."

Hawk hit pause, snatched the recording out the radio and hiraishined immediately to the compound. He was trembling by the time he made it to the main house and into the library where Naruto was helping with homework. Children gasped startled at the sight of the ANBU mask, but Naruto turned, and asked calmly, "Is someone immediately about to die?"

Hawk could only shake his head. He needed to tell Naruto. He needed to tell Naruto now. But the words, the words, were stuck in a knot of fear and anger in his throat.

"Take a deep breath."

Tomu crumbled underneath the steady hold Naruto placed on his shoulder. His anger was so throttling it was breaking out of him in tears. Naruto shoved him into his arms and rubbed steady circles against his back.

He was going to lose Naruto. _He was going to lose Naruto._

"Tomu," Naruto said once he realized Tomu was getting worse. He pulled Tomu back, studied him for a brief moment, and then said in such a demanding tone it made Tomu flinch, "Activate your sharingan."

It didn't require words for him to do. Tomu did so and suddenly the details of the room became clearer. Naruto pressed a hand against Tomu's chest. "Focus on my hand." Tomu looked down. There were calluses on Naruto's hand. It was even more tanned that usual from the summer heat. There were splotches of ink on his fingers from helping the kids with homework. Tomu traced and followed the lines of ink, the curves, and the shapes. Suddenly, the hand lifted against his chest when Tomu took a breath.

Tomu glanced up at Naruto. "The Akimichi-"

Naruto raised a hand. "Take care of those flames first."

Tomu blinked in surprise. He turned around and stared dumbly at slow burning flames eating away at the wood of the hallway. "I don't know how."

Thankfully, Hohei and Sasuke were just coming into house. They didn't have a hiraishin kunai that led straight to Naruto and it took some time to catch up. They were cut off from Tomu by the flames. Sasuke immediately retreated and re-entered the house through the back door.

Naruto began to calmly evacuate the children out the back. It proved that black flames weren't the strangest thing to ever occur in the Uzumaki compound as the kids were barely concerned. They were more excited to get out of homework.

Sasuke grabbed Tomu's hand and instructed. "Tomu, I need you to open your chakra to me."

Tomu nodded. Sasuke buzzed when Tomu's chakra suddenly flooded him. There were strange twists within the coils, foreign, but the heat of Tomu's chakra was familiar and genetic. Sasuke focused it and twitched a smile when he commanded control over the wild black flames. It was a nostalgic rush of power but one he could live without. Sasuke extinguished the flames with finality.

* * *

"Huh," Naruto said when he finished listening to the recording. "I guess the cat is out of the bag or fox, I guess."

"That's it?!" Hawk threw up his hands in exasperation.

Sasuke simply turned on his heels, crossed the Hokage's office and headed toward the double doors. When Sasuke's hand reached the door knob, Naruto's voice cut sharp through the room. "Sasuke. Stand down. There's nothing to be done."

"I could destroy them all."

"And become your brother?"

The question stabbed Sasuke in the back. Sasuke turned and fixed Naruto with a penetrating glare.

Sitting at the Hokage's desk, Naruto fixed his shoulders, undisturbed by the weight of Sasuke's expression. "Not everyone in the Akimichi clan is complicit in this scheme. Can you really destroy an entire clan knowing most of them are innocent?"

Sasuke's fist clenched, unclenched. He counted to ten and then bit out the words, "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to bed," Naruto said decisively. Both Sasuke and Hawk tensed with disbelief. Naruto further explained. "I'm too late. From what I understand, they already sent out their agents before your operation even began."

"We still have a few hours. We can force the Akimichi to tell us where the agents are and then we can hunt them all down?"

"Even I can't hunt them all down by sunrise. We might get some of them but it only takes one person. Information like this spreads through the Shinobi Nations like wildfire. We're too late but I will promise you they will not get away with this."

"How are you so calm?" Sasuke snapped. "They're trying to kill you Naruto - these fucking Akimichi bastards who won't dare openly fight you themselves."

"Because I've been doing this for six years, Sasuke." Naruto told him. "Thank you both for your hard work. Your mission is complete. You are dismissed."

Tomu peeled off his ANBU mask and tossed it to the floor. "Now what? You don't get to do this Naruto. What are we going to do?"

"Tomorrow I will call a council meeting."

"The council?! What's the point? The Yamanaka and the Nara are going to cover for them and the Akimichi can just buy the rest of the votes," Tomu argued. "No, Naruto, we need to take care of the Akimichi. For too long have they made their money and built their empire on the misfortune and downfall of others. And now they threaten you? The only person in Konoha they do not own? This is war."

"Tomu," Naruto snapped so harshly it was the first time Sasuke's ever seen Tomu verbally cowed. "Give me your hitai-ite."

All of Tomu's anger and self-righteous fury petered out at once.

"But… Naruto?" Tomu asked softly, as soft and unsure as a scolded child approaching an angry parent.

"Tomu," Naruto said patiently. "I did not become the Hokage because of the Kyuubi. Furthermore, I have survived the past three years without the Kyuubi because of the people I trust to support and protect me. And I have faith that you will continue to do so. But I will not tolerate this destructive anger. You've already accidentally activated Amaterasu once today. You're only going to end up hurting innocent people and most of all, you're going to end up doing something you regret. Give me your hitai-ite."

Tomu nodded his bowed head. His shoulders were sunk inwards. His hands shook as he reached up and undid the hitai-ite around his forehead. Completely and utterly chastised, he handed the hitai-ite back to Naruto.

Naruto tapped the metal. "I'm going to hold onto this for a bit, okay?"

Tomu nodded, eyes still on a loose thread of the carpet.

"Now go to the compound and make sure everyone is getting ready for bed, including yourself."

Tomu nodded.

After Tomu hiraishined to the compound, Naruto heaved a great sigh. "He wasn't like this before Mushi died. He's so angry."

"I could have told you that," Sasuke said flatly. Still, despite the Uchiha curse, Sasuke didn't see Tomu going off the deep-end anytime soon. Tomu was still, in his own way, coming to terms with the death of his wife and unborn child. That wasn't an easy grief to bear.

"He'll be alright though," Sasuke said softly. "He's stronger than I ever was. And he trusts you enough to listen."

Naruto rubbed at his eyes. Sasuke looked at Naruto. "So, what are we going to do?"

Because of course, Naruto had sent Tomu out of the room so the real adults could get some work done. Naruto had to have a better plan than a council meeting. Perhaps they were going to storm the compound together.

Naruto motioned Sasuke forward. Sasuke walked toward the desk in anticipation. Naruto conspiratorially leaned forward to whisper something into Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke hit the ground with a thud. Naruto stood over both Sasuke and the seal he had placed on his chest.

"Really, Sasuke? I have known you long enough to know you won't take 'no' for an answer. And while I appreciate you trying to avenge my honor and everything but I can fight my own battle." Naruto reached down and hefted Sasuke over his shoulder.

With an exhausted yawn, Naruto climbed the steps of the forge and then dropped Sasuke in bed.

"See you in the morning," Naruto said cheekily. Then he left Sasuke there, paralyzed, for the rest of the night.

* * *

"I am going to kill you," were the first words out of Sasuke's mouth the following morning when Naruto released the seal.

Then Sasuke punched Naruto in the face.

"Wow, are we going back to this?" Naruto said from the floor and rubbed at the bruise forming on his jaw.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his shirt and shoved him against the wall. There was a political bomb dropped this morning and Sasuke couldn't comprehend Naruto's laissez-faire attitude. "Naruto, your secret is out. Your life is in danger. Your family is in danger. This clan is in danger. And all of this means something to Tomu. I refuse to watch that boy go through loss again. Please tell me you have a plan. I need to know you have a plan."

Naruto wrapped a hand around Sasuke's arm. "I have a plan but it means nothing if you don't trust me. I earned this Kage's hat, Sasuke. I know what I'm doing."

Sasuke stared at Naruto but his hand was clenched as tight as the knot of emotions in his chest. He was angry, and anxious, and scared, and wary. And ultimately, what he told Naruto was a lie. _He_ couldn't go through loss again.

"Trust me."

Sasuke's fingers peeled back one by one until he finally released Naruto's shirt. Sasuke stepped back to give himself space. Naruto hung his head back against the wall and whispered, "Honestly, I'm surprised I've been able to keep it a secret for this long. I always knew it'd get out sooner or later. And if I die, that's okay. I know that Ame and Ichiho and the Hyuuga will take care of the clan. But I don't need revenge Sasuke. I need you to take care of Tomu."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, crossed his arms, and looked the other direction. "Shut the fuck up Naruto. You're not dying before me. Let's go. We have a council meeting to get to."

Sasuke grabbed his ANBU gear and got dressed in the bathroom. By the time he was finished Naruto was outside in his full Kage attire waiting for him. "Aren't you fucking hot?"

Naruto groaned. "You have no idea."

When they reached the gate, a shift in air let Sasuke know someone had used a hiraishin kunai. He was expecting Tomu, but was surprised to find Gaara, the Kazekage, instead.

Gaara crossed his arms and fixed Naruto with a stare. "Naruto, people know."

"Thanks for the heads-up but I'm already aware."

Underneath the gate, Naruto straightened his cloak and fixed his hat. The nonchalance from last night was replaced by something hard and cold in its stead. It was time to get to business.

* * *

ANBU Crow was posted as guard in the council room. As Naruto took away his hitai-ite, Hawk was absent from the proceedings but Crane was posted on the other side of the room closer to the podium.

They didn't have to wait for very long for the council members to gather in the large atrium. When the Kage called an impromptu council meeting, you knew it was urgent. The heat amplified the tension in the room. Several were desperately fanning themselves even though it was early morning and the worst of the day's heat was not yet upon them. Sasuke had a position in the back of the room where he could hear the whispers and speculations of what was going on.

Sasuke's attentions were primarily focused on Chouji.

"What do you think this meeting is about?" Chouji asked Ino curiously.

"It's out – the sealing of the Kyuubi," Ino said. "Naruto doesn't have any other choice but to publicly reveal the information to the council."

"It's out?" Chouji asked, shocked. "How? Only the former Konoha Eleven had that information."

Ino glanced a suspicious look across the room and seemed just about ready to interrogate the first person to confront her. "Someone betrayed Konoha."

Chouji's face turned ashen.

Everyone's attention turned when Sakura entered the room. Naruto had to have fore-warned her. Even though Sakura had a lot more tact than Sasuke, springing this news on her as a surprise would be a terrible idea. She was just as likely as Sasuke to punch Chouji's head off. The tension racketed ten-fold just from the anger on Sakura's face. And if no one could see she was angry, they could certainly feel it. Every one of her steps sent a quake through the council room. Sakura sat in her chair as Head of Konoha's Hospital and Medical Department.

With a miffed expression Hanabi Hyuuga, who had been in Kumo just a few hours ago, entered the room and took the seat of the Clan Head. Hohei had said she was coming to cover for Hinata the more Hinata's pregnancy was beginning to show but Sasuke could see Captain Snake cleverly standing behind the Hokage and using her Captain's Cloak to hide her baby bump.

Ame was sitting in for the Uzumaki Clan.

Once all the Clan Heads and significant person were seated, Naruto leaned forward into the microphone and announced, "As the Rokudaime Hokage, I have important news to tell all of you. Three years ago, I created a new jinchuuriki seal that completely separated my chakra from the Kyuubi's. I have sealed him away and do not have the means to ever unlock him again. It was a decision I made for the safety of Konoha and the safety of my family. Last night, this information was leaked and it is only fair that if my enemies know, then Konoha should know as well."

By their faces it was easy to tell who knew and who did not already know.

Hana Inuzuka pointed out, "Anything concerning the jinchuuriki is a matter of national security. The Hokage does not have the overhead authority to make such a decision without the informed consent of the council."

"Every other ninja village has gotten by without a jinchuuriki. We're in a different age. All the tailed beasts are gone. Konoha no longer needs the Kyuubi."

The Civilian Representative argued, "And our enemies will test you on that."

"Konohagakure is not the Nine-tailed Fox. It is all the ninja that are the leaves, the roots, and the shade of our tree. It is the Will of Fire. Let our enemies come and I will show them how strong Konoha really is," Naruto dared anyone to argue with him. "But first, in order for Konoha to stand strong we've got to pull out the weeds. Someone leaked this information and I request to charge the Akimichi Clan with treason."

Chouji rose out of his seat at the claim. "The Akimichi Clan has always been loyal to you Hokage-sama. We are the backbone of Konoha and we love this village. Certainly you have made a mistake. What evidence do you have against us?"

ANBU Crane walked forward and placed a microphone in from of the cassette player already set up in the front of the room. Crane pressed play.

When it finished, the table in front of Sakura cracked down the middle. Tsunade, who had been appointed the village elder when Naruto became Hokage looked up from her seat with a shocked expression. Konohamaru, the Sarutobi Clan Head leaned and whispered to Kurenai, the Yuuhi Clan Head. The eyes of all others were squarely on Chouji.

"So what?" The Houzuki Clan Head said, bored of the proceedings and still in her night gown. "Clans in Mist planned the Kage's assassination all the time. It's a hobby."

"When the Houzuki plans my assassination I feel loved," Naruto noted. "When the Akimichi plans my assassination I feel betrayed."

"Someone is obviously trying to set us up," Chouji argued against the damning evidence. "Who knows how those radio things work? It could be someone trying to pit Konoha us against each other."

"Someone could be trying to incite distrust among us," Shikamaru reluctantly said. "After all Orochimaru is still at large."

With the mention of Orochimaru's name, doubt was immediately seeded throughout the council.

"And from what I understand those recordings can be manipulated." Ino nodded her head sagely.

Naruto cleared his throat to regather the attention of the room. "This is the list of names of those persons of the Akimichi Clan that were conspiring against me." Naruto began to read the names of the persons who had met within the room. Naruto said the last name without mercy, "…and Chouji Akimichi. With the evidence I have brought to you today, we will vote to determine whether or not the Akimcihi Clan is guilty of treason. As the accused party, the Akimichi Clan will be unable to vote."

Ame's voice rung out without hesitation. "The Uzumaki Clan determines the Akimichi guilty."

"The Hyuuga Clan determines the Akimichi guilty."

"The Nara Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

"The Yamanaka Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

"The Inuzuka Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

"The Sarutobi Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

"The Yuuhi Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

"The Aburame Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

"The Houzuki Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

Tsunade heaved a great sigh. This was not going in their favor and politically, you didn't want to be on the Akimichi's bad side. She had too many debts to them as is. "The Senju Clan determines the Akimichi not guilty."

There was one vote left. The Momochi Clan Head, a surprisingly younger man in his early thirties, gave Chouji a hard stare. Even though the vote was obviously not in their favor and it wouldn't have any influence on the outcome, he decided, "The Momochi Clan determines the Akimichi guilty."

Naruto announced, "At a vote of 3 to 8 the Akimichi Clan have been found not guilty."

* * *

Ino shoved Chouji angrily in the chest the moment they could get to a private room away from the council.

"What the fuck?" Ino spat hotly.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I tried to avoid this," Chouji said as he stumbled back, unaffected by the physical force of Ino's shove but daunted by her anger.

"What a drag," Shikamaru slid a hand down his face. "Chouji, explain."

"A few members of the clan weren't happy with the way Naruto kept interfering in Akimichi businesses. They weren't happy and I attempted to compromise. I tried to offer a better solution. I figured if I could discredit Naruto and vote him out of the Kage position then the Clan will be happy and then they wouldn't try to take Naruto's life. I tried and it didn't work and they went around my fucking back."

Shikamaru shook his head. "This looks bad Chouji. This looks very bad."

"What was I supposed to do Shikamaru?" Chouji asked angrily. "They're my family. I have to protect them."

Ino shouted, "Chouji, you almost caused a war between Konoha and Kumo! You almost caused a civil war! You smuggled those bombs into Konoha!"

"The clan was going to report them to the police!" Chouji raised his hands. "How was I supposed to know _Orochimaru_ was in Konoha. No one was supposed to get hurt. I was just trying both to appease the clan and protect Naruto's life."

"I believe you," Shikamaru whispered, then he winced as he said. "Chouji, the Nara has no choice but to end our alliance with the Akimichi. Everything was alright when your clan did things in the shadows but now… we can't continue to support a clan who wishes to harm the Kage. Naruto has given us six years of peace. The Nara will sacrifice our alliance for that."

"The Yamanaka agree," Ino said painfully. "I covered for you in there because we are friends but the Yamanaka can no longer support the Akimichi Clan."

"Ino, Shikamaru," Chouji said dejectedly. "I didn't have a choice."

* * *

"What was the point Naruto?!" Sasuke snapped with rage. "All that damn work that Tomu and I did was for nothing! The Akimichi get off for free because they fucking own everything!"

"I did exactly what I set out to accomplish," Naruto said as he calmly took off and folded the Kage's cloak onto his desk. Naruto pointedly sat the hat atop the folded robes.

"I don't see the plan Naruto. Now that you've lost in the council, the Akimichi will only become more embolden to attack you out in the open. How is this a solution?" Sasuke questioned. It had literally taken all of Sasuke's self-control not to pull out a sword on everyone who had said 'not guilty' back in the council room. Or to say fuck it, and burn all the stupid fucks alive.

But Naruto had a plan he says. _A plan_.

Naruto turned to look at the almost crazed look on Sasuke's face. It was certainly concerning. "Sasuke, what prevents an Hokage from going rogue and completely commandeering Konoha?"

It was a basic question of checks and balances you learned in the ninja academy. Sasuke unlocked his jaw to answer, "The clans will unite against him. It prevents a Kage from becoming an utter tyrant."

Naruto nodded. "Sasuke, let me show you what happens when a clan no longer has any more friends."

Tomu suddenly entered the office and said with a whisper, "I got the items you requested."

Sasuke watched Tomu place a katana, a flak jacket, ink, a scroll of seals, several pouches of kunai, Naruto's sage cloak, and his summoning scroll down onto the Kage's desk.

Naruto clasped the buttons of the flak jacket with familiar finesse. The kunai clinked against one another as he tied them to his belt. He hitched the summoning scroll underneath the sage cloak that had blood stained into its color. Then Naruto picked up the hitai-ite he had taken from Tomu and tied it around his forehead.

"I don't ask others to do my dirty work. Sasuke, go to the Akimichi compound as Toro and take stock of their reaction to the meeting."

Naruto slid an ANBU mask over toward Sasuke.

"You'll know when."

* * *

"The Akimichi owns Konoha!"

The Akimichi laughed and celebrated their victory with drink and food.

"I didn't even know the family was targeting the Hokage but we sure knocked him off a pedestal or two. Do you know what this means? We can do whatever we want and Konoha knows it." Chiro shoved a kiss against Sasuke, eyes filled with light and excitement. "Konoha is ours."

"We lost our alliance with the Nara and Yamanaka," Chouji snapped disapprovingly. It was the first time Sasuke had seen Chouji so mad since the fat jokes when they were kids.

"Their loss. Now we can begin plans to take over the Nara's monopoly of the medicinal sector and the Yamanaka's boutique flower shops. This is good news."

The Matron watched the celebration with a smug smile from a railing overhead, like a Queen looking down on the bounty of her kingdom. "Dear nephew, losing our alliance might have been a loss but it is a gain in the long run. Our clan isn't just about ninja. We have to provide for everyone."

The doors slammed opened. They hit back against the walls so hard, they broke crooked of their hinges.

The great Akimichi feast was quieted by the sound of footfalls against marble. Naruto Uzumaki strolled into the room, by himself, with not even a retinue of ANBU behind him.

The Matron refused to be intimidated. From her perch, she demanded, "What are you doing here, Hokage-sama? The council has found us innocent in your false accusations."

"I have found you guilty." The Hokage unsheathed his katana. There was a wave throughout the room as everyone took a step back. "I have only come for the names on the list and I have already sealed this entire compound to prevent escape."

Chouji placed his daughter on the ground. He motioned to someone in the crowd. A woman scurried forward and pulled Chouji's daughter away from the scene. He walked around the table and bowed to his knee before the Hokage. "Naruto, please. I beg for your mercy."

With a dark snarl, Naruto accused, " _ **You brought in the bombs that almost destroyed my family**_."

"That wasn't my intention! I was trying to protect you! We're friends, Naruto."

"Then why didn't you come to me!" Naruto demanded. "It never had to come to this point. You could have come to me."

Chouji shook his head as tears began to crack down his face. Even if he went to Naruto, Chouji knew Naruto would still demand the names of the people conspiring against him. Chouji didn't want this bloodshed on either side. Chouji said in tears, "They're my family."

The Hokage said without mercy, "In the morning the government will seize your property, your businesses, and all of your wealth to be redistributed equally among the citizens of Konoha. The Akimichi Clan has lost their seat on the council and it can only be regained after years of dedicated loyalty and service."

That received more than a few angry murmurs. Someone yelled in the room, "You can't do this! You can't come in here and take everything that we have worked so hard to earn! The Kage has no right interfering in clan business!"

The Hokage cocked his head. "Who's going to stop me? The Nara isn't coming. The Yamanaka isn't coming. No one is coming to save you. Money is not going to save you from me."

Sasuke saw the flash of steel and reacted on instinct. He unsheathed Zatoichi hidden in his robes and attacked the man making a play for the Hokage's back. The cut was clean across the neck. Taisho Akimichi stumbled back, blood glittering a ruby necklace around his neck. Guy wasn't even on the list.

Back in the crowd, Chiro was giving him a horrified expression. It was the same expression Sasuke probably had when he confronted his elder brother during the massacre. Sasuke reached into his sleeve and fitted the Fox ANBU mask onto his face.

All those who knew what that mask meant – the mask of the ANBU who had gotten close, the mask they had tried to assassinate, broke from the crowd and ran for their lives.

Naruto didn't seem too worried. There was nowhere for them to go.

"Naruto," Chouji pleaded. "Please spare my family."

"I will only take the names involved in the plot to kill me. Only the names on the list."

Chouji hung his head once he understood that he could not save his misguided family. Chouji looked up with all the apologies he wished he had time to say and all the regrets he couldn't take back. "Long live the Hokage."

The katana whistled through the air. Chouji's head hit the floor with a thud and coated the marble with blood. Chouji went willingly.

The others did not.

It was chaos the moment Chouji's head rolled. People screamed and stampeded over each other to get out of the ballroom. Several fell over themselves, tossed over tables, and wasted food on the floor.

"Fox, left."

ANBU Fox shot to the left. He dodged, running a circle on the walls and ceiling to avoid a gigantic hand. He vaulted off the side of the wall, around and under, and cut across the vital veins in the wrist. The Akimichi screamed as he shrunk back down to size. Fox landed with a sword in the Akimichi's neck.

The marble statue of the Akimichi founder toppled over from a poorly aimed water jutsu. Fox lit the hallway with a lightning.

Fox rolled into a bathroom to avoid a gigantic foot coming down on his head. An aquarium was crushed underneath the shoe and sent a skittering of fish swimming across the floor. Fox jumped up through the hole broken in the ceiling and looked up at the giant version of Chijiro Akimichi.

Chijiro's hand swept down to swat at him. Fox cut through the middle finger with ease. The dismembered limb flipped down and crushed the fountain of glass butterflies. With an earth jutsu even a genin could perform, the earth shifted underneath Chijiro's heel. The giant went tumbling down. Fox set his foot against the roof tiling and summoned a fireball jutsu. The flame left his lips with a fury and reached heights as tall and wide as the Kage Mountain.

Fox killed those that were on the list and incapacitate those others who got in his way. Suddenly, Fox was taken aback when he found Chiro cowering in a closet. Fox evaded the throw of kitchen knives with ease, each one clinking sharply on his katana.

Chiro wasn't on the list.

But that didn't matter to Fox. He prowled forward with the taste of blood on his tongue.

"You were in on it!" Chiro yelled with betrayed tears. "You despicable worthless piece of shit! You've ruined my family! You've destroyed it! Are you happy?! Are you fucking happy?!"

Fox raised his sword.

Chiro collapsed into a ball of sobs. Fox despised this idiotic self-entitled Akimichi. But Chiro was innocent and if only someone could have seen that when they condemned the Uchiha.

Fox sheathed his katana, turned on his heel, and walked away.

* * *

Fox had to stepped over the broken body of the Matron when he walked back into the ballroom. It looked like she had taken an unlucky tumble off the upper railing.

Naruto, the Hokage, was leaning against the table, lazily eating the food, waiting. There was blood splattered all over him. His katana dripped with blood. Fox gave a cursory glance and determined there were no visible injuries. Naruto cocked his head and there was a dark gleam in his eye that revealed exactly how the man came to be called and feared during the Fifth Shinobi War as, 'The Demon Fox of Konoha'.

"What took you so long?" Naruto finished an apple, pushed off the table, and headed out the broken front doors.

"Teme," Fox scoffed and followed in the Hokage's shadow.

* * *

Sasuke watched from across the street as boys threw rocks at a sniffling red-haired young boy with mocking taunts, "traitor, traitor, traitor."

Sasuke pocketed his hands, hunched his shoulders, and kept walking. When the Uchiha had planned a coup d'etat, no one had known about it. Instead, Itachi had intentionally chosen to take the blame and spare the reputation of the Uchiha name. Sasuke couldn't imagine how long it would take the Akimichi to rebuild and redeem themselves from their new-found shame.

Sometimes, Sasuke wondered if the Uchiha should have taken responsibility for their actions. And perhaps pride was an even bigger fatal flaw than greed. Was the death of an entire clan really preferable to dishonor? At least they'd still be alive.

Tomu had requested sushi for lunch so Sasuke walked into the huge restaurant that Chiro used to own. Mizumi bounded over, kitchen knife still in hand, with a feral smile. She asked with a chortle, "Came to see my fancy smancy new restaurant?"

Sasuke was picking up lunch because Tomu was really busy. He had been the once tasked to re-distributing the Akimichi businesses. Most of the businesses were changed into the Yamanaka's and Nara's hands as they were, through political marriages, distantly related to the Akimichi. It was supposed to help soften blow to the Akimichi's newfound poverty. A few others were given to people who owned successful similar businesses and were familiar with how to run them.

But this one, the handing over of Chiro's sushi restaurant to Mizumi, had Tomu's spite all over it. It was perhaps a better punishment for Chiro than Sasuke could ever think of and the biggest 'fuck-you,' Sasuke has ever seen.

"You know, since the gala I've been trying to figure out who you are," Mizumi said as she flicked the re-dyed black strands of Sasuke's hair.

"I thought a Mist-ninja didn't ask any questions?"

"I'm not a Mist-ninja now am I?" Mizumi teased. Then she said more thoughtfully, "You're stronger than a Jounin and yet it seems that no one in Konoha knows who you are. You're the Hokage's secret weapon, the ace in his sleeve, the one no one knows to watch out for. You're the dangerous shadow of a dangerous man."

Mizumi handed Sasuke his takeout carton. "I don't want to know _who_ you are because I doubt I'd leave this conversation alive but I know what you are."

Sasuke didn't entertain her with a response. He simply took his bags and left. He dropped off the sushi with Tomu who still had a large list of various businesses he has yet to assign.

Naruto wasn't at the compound today. He was actually in his office dealing with the fallout. Sasuke bought him sushi and placed the third order on top the Hokage's desk. Naruto was lounged in his chair, ignoring an ample stack of paperwork, thinking, looking out towards the window.

"The kids will grow up hating me," Naruto said knowingly. "They will ask why I didn't spare their parents or why didn't I give them a second chance. Do you think I did the right thing?"

Sasuke didn't have to think all that hard for his answer. "Right thing or not, I respect that you did it yourself."

Naruto didn't need an Itachi to hold the kunai for him.

Sasuke Uchiha dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and acknowledged Naruto.

"Hokage-sama."

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**Trust me.** _

* * *

 


	16. The Hokage's Bodyguard

"Sasuke, what are you doing?"

The piece of fish was already on Sasuke's tongue. The Uchiha went rigid, caught red-handed. He had thought Naruto would be longer in the bathroom. Sasuke pushed the piece of tuna in his mouth and faced Naruto, slowly chewing.

They stared at each other in almost dumb silence.

Then Naruto put the pieces together. "Are you tasting my food for poison?"

Sasuke looked stubbornly toward the far wall but continued to chew. Once he swallowed he replied, "I became resistant to several of poisons under Orochimaru's tutelage."

"That food is from my secretary who has been packaging her leftover dinners into bento lunches for me for the past four years. I think I'm fine, thanks." Naruto physically shouldered Sasuke out of the way and defended his lunch. "Wait, is that why you bought me lunch yesterday?"

"Technically, you bought it. Tomu gave me access to the seal of the Uzumaki bank account."

"Sasuke, you just finished a major operation. You're supposed to be on leave – a vacation – a break – and not camped out on the roof of the building across the street."

Sasuke gave Naruto a wild look. "Who's supposed to protect you?"'

"Sasuke, there are two ANBU posted outside of the door and five more monitoring the office. Captain Snake multiplied my ANBU detail the moment news of the Kyuubi broke."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and without a hint of bravado, "I am worth a hundred of them."

"Sasuke, go home. Go to sleep."

"Am I interrupting?" came a clipped voice.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke noticed when the office doors opened. Ino twirled the end of her ponytail around her finger as she leaned against the doorframe. Ino didn't hesitate to interrupt this endless argument between Naruto and Sasuke, and it was always seemed to be the same argument.

"Sasuke and I will finish this conversation _later_. Please come in. We haven't talked." And Sasuke would have walked away if he hadn't noticed Naruto's slight shift in form - from a relaxed irate stance to a more serious set of the feet.

Naruto set aside the bento box and leaned against the desk expectantly. Ino walked in with dark purpose. She stopped in front of the Hokage and demanded, "I want to see. I deserve at least that much."

"You have no right making demands of the Hokage," Sasuke said from the two steps he managed to make away from Naruto.

"Really?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who was the one who always made demands of him. Naruto turned back to Ino. "As your friend, you are completely right. You deserve that much."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the implication of what Naruto was agreeing to and at how dangerous that was. Naruto was about to give access to his head. What if Ino didn't like what she saw? Sasuke watched as Naruto raised his head and stand firm in the consequences of his actions. Naruto knew what he was agreeing to and yet he was agreeing to it anyways. Sasuke was not about to let Naruto's guilt or whatever Naruto believed he was responsible for put Naruto at such a risk.

Sasuke found himself standing in front of Naruto defensively. "I was there. I saw everything."

Ino was not impressed. She saw Sasuke as an obstacle but her job was nothing if it wasn't how to read people. When Sasuke jumped in front of Naruto it wasn't as someone defending a friend, it was a ninja protecting their Kage. Ino had no doubt that if Naruto told Sasuke to destroy an entire village, he would do it. The thought sent fear to the back of Ino's neck and for Ino, fear was hard-earned.

"Sasuke," Naruto tugged at Sasuke's sleeve. "You don't have to."

"There's no point putting you at unnecessary risk." Sasuke somehow, impossibly, glowered further at Ino. "Do it."

Sasuke refused to flinch when Ino placed cold fingers on his forehead. His mouth went dry in memory of the last time Ino's hand had been there.

Ino shifting through memories, lingered on things of interests that she had no rights to, and finally settled on the events of the other night. Ino's hand snapped away the moment after Naruto killed Chouji. Sasuke's didn't know what to expect. He honestly didn't know Ino well enough to know if she would lash out or not.

She took a step back. Sasuke had a jutsu prepared and the only thing holding him back was Naruto's hand on his sleeve. Then her shoulders deflated. "It's my fault. I'm the head of the T&I department and I didn't even see this coming. If you had told me what the Akimichi were up to I wouldn't have believed you. They were family. We have holiday parties and birthday parties together. I should have seen it coming. I should have stopped Chouji. I should have been there to tell him it was a stupid fucking idea."

Both Sasuke and Naruto shared a look because there was a crying Ino Yamanaka in their vicinity and someone had to do something about it.

Naruto moved forward to comfort her but Ino snapped her hands up immediately "No, Naruto."

The refusal wounded Naruto. Naruto stepped back and unconsciously retreated behind Sasuke. Naruto knew some things would never be the same again, maybe time could repair a little of it, but their friendship had been damaged and altered in some permanent way. Naruto could see it in Shikamaru's eyes when the man had asked for some time to grieve. Logically, they understood why Naruto made the decision that he did but emotionally, they were still hurt and that hurt would take some time to scab over and scar.

Ino wiped her eyes. "What are you planning to do with Chocho?"

"I was planning to send her to her mother in Kumo," Naruto answered.

"Are you coming to the funeral?"

Naruto hunched his shoulders. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Ino's head snapped up and told Naruto. "You're going to the funeral."

The doors slammed shut behind her.

Naruto leaned against the desk with sudden exhaustion. It still felt as if Ino had clawed through Nartuo's head instead. He felt so exposed. He glanced over toward Sasuke. Quite frankly, killing Chouji had taken something out him emotionally. He was grieving even though he had been the one holding the sword, and wasn't that just fucked up?

He was too tired to fight Sasuke. With a resigned sigh, Naruto whispered, "I don't need another bodyguard, but I don't mind a friend."

Sasuke could feel Naruto's emotional exhaustion. He could feel that Naruto was simply too weary to sustain the emotional distance between them. Naruto was vulnerable and Sasuke didn't want to exploit that.

Sasuke approached carefully and leaned back against the desk beside him. Sasuke picked up the bento box and stared down at the rice balls molded into Naruto's face, whiskers and all. There was no way these were leftovers. "Your secretary has been doing this for four years?"

Naruto frowned at Sasuke's judgmental eyebrow. Naruto snatched the box away. "She has a husband. And I get to eat my face in rice."

"I had girls fixing me bento boxes all throughout the academy. Believe me, her husband isn't the one she wishes she could-" Naruto stuffed a sausage-octopus into Sasuke's mouth.

"Say it and I'll never be able to look at her the same way again."

Honestly, Sasuke wasn't surprised. The woman gave him an angry look every time she told him he didn't have an appointment and went in the office anyways.

Naruto begrudgingly offered him another pair of chopsticks out the drawer of his desk and shared the bento box like two boys out in a schoolyard.

"You're right. It is fun to eat your face."

"I am awesome," Naruto said haughtily and then frowned when Sasuke went for the last riceball. Their chopsticks clashed. Both of them looked at each other with annoyance and then watched as the riceball fell and rolled along the carpet with a plop.

"Look what you did to my face!" Naruto said in mock indignation.

"That's not my fault. It was ugly to begin with."

Naruto elbowed him. Sasuke elbowed him right back. They elbowed each other at the same time and a large stack of papers slid to the floor from the desk. Naruto groaned. "See? This is why I didn't want you to stay. I'm never going to get any work done."

Sasuke regarded all of the paperwork. "Is it important?"

Naruto bit down on his lip and sighed, "Yeah."

Sasuke sat down his chopsticks. He pulled up and reached down for the papers. Naruto immediately helped until they were all in messier piles on the desk.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Sasuke said decisively.

Naruto snorted. "If you're going to hang around the office all day at least bring your ANBU mask. And I want ramen for lunch."

Sasuke shook his head, but smiled, as he jumped out the window.

* * *

The next day, Naruto was so busy with ordering people in and out of his office, that ANBU Fox slipped into the corner and made himself as out of the way as possible. Several people noted his presence, but they noted the mask, nodded approvingly at the idea of extra protection and continued on with their business.

Naruto monitored constant reports on how the international community was reacting to the recent news. The news that Naruto was independent of the Kyuubi was just as shocking as Naruto's handling of the Akimichi compound. Both Amegakure and Demon Country were a concern. Naruto had uncovered an assassination plot that Kurotsuchi had planned, of which she replied to two days later in a letter, 'I'm just keeping you on your toes.' As if to say now that the formalities were out the way, they could go back to as they were before.

Sasuke realized startling that Naruto didn't go home. He created shadow clones to both manage the compound and the apocalypse of paperwork coming into the office daily. Naruto slept about three hours on the office couch and washed off in the bathroom down the hallway. People were constantly coming in and out, through the doors, through the windows, by hiraishin kunai - it seemed to be never ending. Sasuke never really comprehended how much work it took to be a Hokage. Thank fuck Naruto defeated him during the Fourth Shinobi War. He was beginning to believe becoming Hokage was the worst idea he ever had and he's had a lot of bad ideas.

The closest an assassination attempt reached the office doors was when an Akimichi genin returned home from a mission and found out what had happened. The genin went straight for Naruto with a kunai.

It was a genin so Sasuke didn't even bother getting involved. Naruto deflected the attack easily. Physically, Naruto remained unharmed from the fallout but emotionally, there was a gaping bleeding wound at Naruto's side. And Naruto simply covered it up with a big hat and white cloak and pushed through.

* * *

It wasn't until three weeks later Captain Snake came in and said, "Things are slowing down."

"Thank kami," Naruto said as he hit his forehead against the desk. "I can't wait to go back home. Shadow clones are great but I miss the kids. I miss you."

"We need to talk about that Naruto. We need to discuss your continued protection after you hand the hat back over to a shadow clone and return home."

"What? I'm already suffocating with how many eyes you have on me now. I just want to go home and spend time with the kids and leave all this stuff behind in the office."

"Naruto, this is a complicated matter. The vast majority of Konoha believe that you work in the office every day, which means any assassination attempts will still come to the office. But I think you should still have a guard over your original person, just in case. Things can't go back to normal because things aren't normal anymore. You need to be more cautious."

"And letting some random person into the compound to watch over me day and night is the answer?" Naruto argued.

"What about Sasuke?"

For the first time, Sasuke looked up from the book he was reading. He had been lounging on the couch where he learned how to tune out most office conversation. They were usually boring and tedious.

"He's strong enough to watch you by himself and the kids are already somewhat acquainted with him. I don't see the problem. You've assigned him to guard you in the office."

"Wait a minute, first of all," Naruto pointed to Sasuke _lounging,_ making himself at home on his couch. "That's not even an official mission. He's just here."

Sasuke hid his face behind the book at the feel of Hinata's eyes. To be fair, he wasn't here all the time. He was still hanging out with Tomu when Tomu had a break from ANBU and spending the night with Hohei when the Hyuuga wasn't on a mission. Sometimes he and Sakura went to brunch. Around that though, he was in the office with Naruto an inordinate amount of time.

Hinata, Captain Snake, sighed as she sat back in the chair and crossed her arms atop her prominent belly. "Quite frankly Naruto, the world isn't going to wait for you two to get your shit together. There aren't many options here because I am not leaving you without at least some kind of protection. It's either Sasuke or I assign three ANBU of my choosing to the Uzumaki compound."

"Fine," Naruto said full of resistance.

"Write up the mission."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and snatched up a blank paper. Naruto grumbled as he wrote out the details that would eventually have to be discussed with Sasuke's supervising Captain. Naruto grumbled as he signed his name.

And that's how Sasuke became the Hokage's official bodyguard.

* * *

Because of his newest mission, Sasuke was officially moving back into the compound. Sasuke didn't really know how much the move to the compound would change anything but Sasuke figured he'll just keep his distance and watch from the shadows like he did in the office.

Sasuke was a little more than irked by the fact Naruto got up at _sunrise_ , which meant Sasuke had to get up at sunrise. Because evidently, that's how much time Naruto needed to get everyone ready for school. It was chaos from the beginning.

Sasuke hunkered down inside the nook of Naruto's bedroom window. He hid from the screaming and the temper-tantrums and the refusals to wake up behind the orange hide of Icha Icha. Sasuke had found a copy and figured it was past time for him to know what all the fuss was about.

Sasuke peeked up from the little orange book when Naruto dramatically collapsed onto the bed when the academy-aged kids were finally _finally_ herded out the gates of the compound. "Wake me up in thirty minutes."

Ten minutes later, the four-year-old toddler Boruto pushed the door so hard it slammed into the wall (the door was already open) and jumped atop Naruto's back. "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy."

"Ask a clone," Naruto mumbled into the pillow.

"But they didn't know." Boruto waved his hands and if the only obvious solution was to personally ask his dad because he had to know more than his own clone. "How deep is the ocean?"

"Deep."

"How long would someone have to hold their breath to reach the bottom?"

"I don't know."

" _Dad._ I need to know." Boruto pressed a book of marine life illustrations into Naruto's face. "There are dolphins and fishes and sharks and sea anenemonane… anenene… amonenome…"

"Anemone," Sasuke corrected unconsciously. He barely processed he had done so while reading his book.

"Yeah that!" Boruto exclaimed. "I need you to take me to the ocean right now. I need to _know."_

" _If_ you give me thirty minutes of sleep and _if_ everyone has their swimsuit on, then I'll take you to the ocean."

Boruto rushed out the room. Somehow it took the four-year old to get his peers ready faster than it took the older kids to get ready for school.

Sasuke has observed that Naruto never sends his kids to the academy early, even if they do display prodigious talent. They always enter at the standard academy age of eight and only if they want to, as evidence by Ichigo who has never stepped foot inside the Academy. There were those who have already graduated the Academy, like Ame, who were away on missions, helping out at Ichiraku Ramen, working at the Uzumaki Seal shop in the marketplace, or volunteering at the daycare. The seven year-old and younger were supposed to spend their days at the daycare with the hired help but Naruto took liberties with those who were walking. Naruto didn't have to spend his entire day with the kids, he just chooses to do so.

At twenty-five minutes, Naruto dragged himself off the bed.

"Whatever happened to that boundless energy of yours?"

"I got old. And getting the kids ready for school is hard fucking work. It's like an entire mission all unto itself." Naruto opened his drawers and searched for a swimsuit. Naruto paused and glanced up at Sasuke. "You know, Hinata is just overdoing it. You don't have to do this. If someone wants to attack me, they'll do it to the shadow clone in the office first."

"Orochimaru got in," Sasuke said to illustrate a point.

Naruto frowned. "I know how he got in."

Sasuke straightened in the windowsill. This never came up in any of their Orochimaru planning meetings. "How?"

"One of the kids invited him in."

Sasuke could feel the horror on his face. Orochimaru was just invited in. It was frightfully easy how Orochimaru had swept through and upset their entire lives.

"While Orochimaru had possessed the body of that boy, one of the kids had invited him over. I've talked with them. They don't bring friends over anymore," Naruto said painfully. Before Orochimaru, half the academy came over to the Uzumaki compound after school.

Naruto said abruptly, "Do you have swim trunks?"

"I must have forgotten to pack them when I moved back to Konoha," Sasuke answered flatly.

Naruto paused, blinked, and then replied, "I can't believe it took you twenty-eight years to find a sense of humor."

"I've always had one. You were just too dumb to understand it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it must have been hiding under all of that angst and duck-butt hair."

"My mother loved that hair style."

Naruto froze. Naruto felt extremely terrible for his thoughtless insult. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke raised a judgmental eyebrow. "Naruto, she didn't. I could never find strong enough gel to lay down my hair."

" _You have terrible humor!"_

"Too soon for dead parent jokes?"

"If you're talking about your parents you've got to make it sound like a joke. You can't say it all solemn and serious like that. Shit, Sasuke, you'd have thought they died yesterday."

" _Dad_ ," Boruto peeked his head through the door. "Are you ready!?"

"I'll be down in just a minute." Then Naruto threw a pair of bright orange swim trunks at Sasuke. "They're new. Haven't worn them yet."

Sasuke gave a horrified expression. "You're kidding."

"But they're the only other pair that I have." Sasuke was calling bullshit right there. "And you're my bodyguard, Sasuke. If I go swimming, you've got to go swimming too. I could get eaten by a shark or something."

"It'd probably just spit you out."

"But wouldn't you wanted to see it?"

Sasuke couldn't argue that. He tossed the trunks over his shoulder and deposited Icha Icha into his pocket.

"Wait, is that Icha Icha?" Naruto asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Found it in the library. With a clan full of kids you'd think you'd stash the porn somewhere more discreet."

"If the book doesn't have any pictures in it the kids aren't interested. Thankfully the pervy sage could not draw." Naruto waved an unconcerned hand. "That one is Kakashi's copy."

Sasuke should have been able to guess that. It was obvious that the book was well used, with a multitude of creases in its spine. "Hn."

Naruto walked out the house to a gaggle of kids jumping up and down in excitement. They were all in swimsuits. A few carried balls, shovels and baskets. A few of the elder kids who have graduated were in attendance and carried surfboards and floats.

"All right, you guys know the drill."

Everyone immediately began to link hands. Naruto held out his hand to Sasuke in invitation. It suddenly occurred to Sasuke that they were really going to the ocean. Sasuke sighed and took Naruto's hand.

In the next instant, Sasuke opened his eyes to the ocean lapping at marble white sand. The kids went surging forward and Naruto sent a clone after them to supervise.

It was a small intimate beach. The shoreline didn't extend for very long and they were surrounded on all sides by dark rocks that from a distance glistened like black marble. The sand was fine and extremely white underneath his feet.

"Where are we?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Earth Country."

" _Earth Country_?! We're in the middle of enemy territory."

"What Hinata doesn't know won't hurt her." Naruto laughed at Sasuke's flabbergasted expression. "It's usually really warm here all year round. There aren't many sharks in the water and the beach is clean. It's pretty private and exclusive and far away from the most populous areas of Earth Country. Besides, if a fisherman did spot us, he's probably never seen the Ichikage in person, what makes you think he'll believe he just saw the Hokage?"

"This is insane," Sasuke told Naruto frankly.

There was a wild smile on Naruto's face as he looked out to where sand castles were being erected. A few kids were digging and hunting for crabs. The elder ones had started a game of kickball.

"Children are forced to grow up so quick in our profession. I can't change the world, Sasuke. But I can love these kids and that's plenty enough to change their world. Life is more than just the next mission." Naruto elbowed Sasuke in the arm. "Life is more than the inside of an office.

Naruto seemed far from the exhaustion he portrayed his morning. It was as if the slight ocean breeze was enough to lift his spirits and the sun added to his illumination. Naruto changed from the commanding presence of the Hokage into someone bright and infectious, a little more into that boy Sasuke remembered as a child.

"Race you." Naruto shot off towards water.

"Teme!" Sasuke yelled after him, annoyed. He wasn't even in the swim trunks yet. Sasuke stomped over behind a few hip-length rocks. He wasn't about to flash a bunch of kids even if they weren't paying attention. With an exasperated breath, he pulled on the bright orange swim trunks and they sagged loose around his waist. They just barely stayed on without any assistance.

Sasuke moved around the rocks just as, in the distance, Naruto charged down, stuck his head between one of the kids shoulders and continued to lift the boy on his shoulders without pause. The boy shouted when Naruto flung him unmercifully into the sea. Naruto tossed his head back with a great laugh until he was slapped in the face with a splash. Children fell in from all sides bombarded and Naruto in a vicious splash fight.

Sasuke walked forward and stopped where Ichigo leaned against a surfboard. Sasuke knew surfing was a pastime in Kiri and he had never tried it himself. "Don't you need to be able to use water jutsu to surf?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Civilians surf." Then he looked up at Sasuke. "Do you want to learn?"

Instinctively, Sasuke was about to ask 'why?' Why would he ever need the skill? How could it help him on a mission? Would it help him against Orochimaru?

"Because it's fun," Ichigo answered without ever hearing any of Sasuke's doubts. "That's what Dad always says."

Because it's fun.

It was such a hard concept for Sasuke to wrap his head around. He hadn't done anything in the pursuit of fun since his parents died. When he wanted to learn something there was an intent behind it. He had initially wanted to learn how to make and forge his own sword so he didn't have to rely on anyone else if it broke again. He wanted to learn all nature transformations because it would protect him. There was no reason for him to learn to surf.

"Yes."

* * *

The mechanics were the hardest part. He had to match the speed of the wave. He could do the math in his head but he constantly miscalculated when he was out on the water. He had to be just ahead of the whitewhash but he kept getting pulled behind. Ichigo said he was thinking too much but thinking was all Sasuke could do to figure out a problem. He wasn't Naruto, who could "feel" things. Sasuke needed to break down problems logically. It took him hours of trying and failing.

And then he stood.

Sasuke has always had great balance, it was inert, a talent he was born with. The moment Sasuke finally stood up on the board, the rest was easy.

Sasuke glanced back and was struck by awe at the swell of the wave. In his lifetime he's seen plenty of water jutsu up-close, blasts of pressure that purpled his pale skin, twists of molecules that turned water into dragons and tigers and creatures that rip and claw, and the suffocating push of water in your lungs until you drown. He's known water in all its offensive forms. But not like this, he had never felt anything as intimate as riding a wave to shore.

Ichigo was right on his heels, coming up and out the water with practiced ease. In his swimsuit and under the glare of the sun, it was more startling to find the ritualistic scarring patterned every inch of the young boy's skin. But what really drew the eye was the Uzumaki clan seal that all children of the clan wore. But unlike the others who wore theirs in more discreet places, the Uzumaki swirl was tattooed proudly on the boy's belly. It could not be a coincidence that it mirrored Naruto's Demon Fox Seal.

Ichigo was much more reserved than his elder sibling but there was a lifetime of years in his observant eyes. Ichigo tapped the side of his lip and gave a knowing nod. When he did that, Sasuke felt the stretch of muscles. Sasuke was smiling like an idiot. Sasuke pressed his forehead against the grainy surface of the surfboard to get his surge of emotions under control. He knew if the smile didn't stop, it was going to turn into tears.

Orochimaru could learn all the jutsu in the world, could become immortal, but he'd probably never take the time to learn how surf. He'd never know what it feels like to balance on water. It was knowledge Orochimaru would deem as useless and pointless. It had no value to him. But Sasuke could only feel as if he had gained something priceless.

A hand slapped Sasuke on the shoulder. Naruto asked, "You learn to surf in a day, why am I not surprised?"

"Dad, you learned to surf in a day," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, but that was with a hundred shadow clones out there at the same time." Naruto huffed. "Sasuke we need to talk."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and wondered what he had done wrong. Sasuke was still warmed by the pride and excitement of his current success.

Naruto pointed to the hand Sasuke was using to hold up his swim trunks. They were loose on the hips when Sasuke had first put them on, but wet, they were constantly sliding down and exposing far more than necessary.

"Those aren't working." Naruto motioned to two genin girls giggling with sly glances in Sasuke's direction. "You're making fan girls of my children."

"You gave them to me." Sasuke glared. This was Naruto's fault.

Naruto slapped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. A blink they were back in Konoha. With sage mode they were in the swimsuit shop. The woman at the counter gasped and then bugged out at the sight of the Hokage and Sasuke in their swim trunks.

"Buy something that fits." Naruto pushed Sasuke forward. There was no one else in the store as it was the beginnings of autumn and not many people in Konoha were randomly swimming in the ocean. The clerk was developing a serious nosebleed.

Most of the swim trunks were just too big around his narrow waist (he'd have to buy from the kid's section. Not in hell with Naruto looking over his shoulder.) Sasuke tried on a speedo. It fit. He was done. He walked out the dressing room and Naruto gave an exasperated groan.

"That's not any better! I have teenage girls _and_ young boys figuring out their sexual orientation. Wear something that covers all that shit up," Naruto grabbed a scuba-like suit and threw it in Sasuke's face. "Do you have any idea how good my hearing is? I cannot listen anymore to conversations about 'how hot dad's friend is.'"

Sasuke bought the offending suit. It was still very tight and Naruto still very much disapproved but there weren't many other options. Naruto returned with Sasuke to the beach and gave the two genin girls a look and tugged on his ear. Their faces immediately turned red.

Naruto brows drew together in confusion at the sound of an unfamiliar laugh. He turned to stare befuddled at the sound tumbling out of Sasuke's lips. Naruto couldn't even remember if Sasuke had ever laughed when they were genin. Naruto gave a small smile when Sasuke went to his knees in a sudden imitation of Tomu. Naruto suddenly found himself amused by the thought: Has Tomu taught Sasuke how to laugh?

Sasuke looked up with a devilish smirk that would have literally stolen the hearts of his kids. "I'll try not to besmirch the innocence of your children. But you do recognize that this is coming from the guy with porn on the bookshelf and the creator of sexy-no-jutsu."

Naruto's mouth flopped open like a fish. "First, it was practically Kakashi's heirloom. I couldn't just throw it away. Second, as Hokage, I've blacklisted that jutsu."

"You blacklisted your own jutsu?"

"I'm not proud of all my accomplishments. Shut up. Let's eat." Naruto walked forward and called on all of the graduated kids. They used a clever combination of water and fire jutsu. Naruto literally commanded the sea and spiraled a large water funnel into the air until it suddenly burst. It sent water and fish raining back toward the dried beds of sands. Genin jumped up and threw fireballs at the fish if it was some weird target practice. Discarding the ones that they missed and the ones accidentally burnt, hundreds of fish were cooked in seconds.

Tomu's laissez-faire attitude toward the sharingan suddenly made sense. The Uzumaki clan used jutsu as if it was an extension of themselves, as every day to life as breathing. It was perhaps the biggest difference between the Uchiha and Uzumaki. The Uchiha honed their jutsu for the battlefield. The Uzumaki honed their jutsu to live.

Over lunch, Sasuke asked about it. "Do you purposefully encourage the use of chakra in everyday life?"

Naruto had to first orient himself to the random question. With one hand filled with fish and a lap claimed by three toddlers, Naruto answered, "I think it's healthy for them. Quite a few of the kids come from civilian parents who suddenly had a child with chakra and didn't know what to do with them. They panicked and abandoned them on my doorstep. Others," Naruto patted Zhou's head, the kid eating the metal handle of a shovel, "even among ninja, their kekkai genkai makes them stand out. I don't want them thinking that they're monsters. The value of what makes them unique is more than their ability to kill someone. They're unique because that's who they are. I might be a Demon Fox but I'm also a Sage. Chakra is an extension of ourselves, Sasuke. Someone must have come along thousands of years ago and proclaimed that the only use for chakra is its ability to kill. I disagree. We are born with chakra. It's a part of ourselves since the moment we take our first breath. It colors how we experience life, how we process emotion, and how we make love."

Never in his life could Sasuke ever remember having such a philosophical, much less an intellectual conversation with Naruto like this one. Naruto was so much older; wise enough to form his own convictions and steady enough to oscillate others.

"But sometimes there's a good reason to keep chakra separate. Tomu wouldn't have been at risk of losing himself if he hadn't been using the sharingan for idiotic reasons."

"Tomu was at risk of losing himself long before he even activated the sharingan. We don't need chakra to do that. We lose ourselves regardless." Naruto hunched over and pressed a kiss to the hair of Zhou's head. Zhou turned and offered the half-eaten handle with bright eyes. Naruto nibbled on the end playfully and then handed it back. Zhou's sudden smile beamed and he settled back against Naruto's chest. "Sharingan or not, you'd still have gone after your brother."

Sasuke turned and focused on picking the bones from his fish. Naruto was right.

"As a Sage, when I look at you all I see is fire. The very temperature of your chakra is hot and your chakra coils crackle like that of a campfire. Sometimes I wonder how it doesn't burn you out but you keep that shit burning out of sheer force of will. It's that beacon of light in an impenetrable darkness. And as you get close to it, you don't know if it's simply a lure to attract unwary travelers into a trap or if it's much needed comfort after a long day's travel. It's uncertainty," Naruto whispered. "It's the not knowing whether or not you'll get burned in the end."

Sasuke felt the sudden heaviness of the conversation. Naruto was trying to determine what this friendship could be. Sasuke swallowed and spoke as honest as possible. "I have seen you heal from four tails of the Kyuubi, skin and muscles burned and melted to the bone. You're the only person in the world that I'll never be hot enough to burn."

"But I don't have the Kyuubi anymore."

Sasuke scoffed almost angrily, because it sounded almost as if Naruto was belittling himself. "The Kyuubi never determined your strength or your resiliency. You were stronger than him. You're stronger than me." Sasuke said it forcefully, as if trying to convince Naruto of his words.

Naruto gave a small thoughtful smile. "Alright, Sasuke. We'll try this. Things are still… uncertain, but we'll try."

Apparently, the kids had enough of Sasuke hogging Naruto's attention. Naruto was immediately tugged off his feet with a dozen hands pulling him up. Naruto was declared it and a sudden game of tag commenced.

Zhou looked at Sasuke thoughtfully and then offered his handle. Sasuke stared at it. Zhou forced it into his face. Resigned, Sasuke grabbed the metal end, bit it with his front teeth and handed it back. Pleased, Zhou ate the rest and then joined the game of tag.

Sasuke spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the shade of an umbrella. He read the book that Kakashi spent his lifetime memorizing. He watched Naruto dive under the water with Boruto and touch the bottom of the sea. Then he napped underneath the sun singing over his skin.

He was content.

* * *

They returned to compound just as Academy hours were ending. Most of the little ones, tired and exhausted from the excitement of the day, went down easily for naps. The older ones went to their own spaces of the compound.

When a sudden wave of kids came through the gate, Sasuke knew that the Academy was over. They all rushed into the main building, gossiping about their peers, discussing jutsu, and groaning over their homework.

"Dad, if your opponent has a chakra flow of 10chi, how much chakra will he expend using the standard shadow clone jutsu?"

Sasuke watched, curled up in a chair in the corner of the room, as Naruto really struggled with this part of the day.

"If you have three pouches of ten kunai and your opponent has four pouches of eight kunai how much more kunai do you have than your opponent?"

"What year did the Niidaime become Hokage?"

"If your elemental affinity is wind and your opponent's elemental is fire? Who is at a disadvantage?"

Shadow clones attempted to help but they seemed to add more to the confusion. Naruto was still hit by a vacant stare from the first question he had received. Finally, Naruto seemed to gather himself and crouched down to a sheet of paper. He sent up a flurry of mutters as he attempted to solve the problem on his own first so he could make sure he understood enough to explain it. Then he stopped.

In a defeated voice toward the child who had asked the question, Naruto said, "I don't know. Wake up early tomorrow morning and ask Iruka before class."

He was the Hokage. He felt ashamed of his failure to help his kids with their homework. He felt ashamed that he had once been dead last at the academy. Homework time was always a struggle. Because homework was a struggle for Naruto, it was a struggle for the kids, leaving the children hating homework in general. None of them wanted to go to school and admit that their Dad, the Hokage, couldn't help them with their homework.

And so they muddled through the best they could.

Sasuke snapped the book shut. He could not witness this travesty any longer. Sasuke walked over and leaned over the four-year academy student. Sasuke pulled out the piece of paper Naruto had been using to solve the problem. The random toss of numbers was cringe-worthy to look at.

"It's a simple algebra problem," Sasuuke said as he drew a diagram on the paper and began to explain with effortless efficiency how to solve the problem but never quite solved it for her. It was how his mother had helped him with his homework. She would explain the mechanics of it, go through example after example, but it was up to Sasuke alone to do the actual problem.

"Oh, I get it," the student beamed at him with a smile. Naruto's eye twitched, as lost as when they first solved the problem, but Naruto lips stretched into a small smile as he watched the child proceed to solve the problem on her own. Sasuke was beginning to suspect that Naruto problems were rooted in the first-year of the Academy. Sasuke's explanation wouldn't make much sense to someone who didn't understand basic math equations. He couldn't comprehend how someone could be such a genius and lacking at something so simple.

Sasuke moved to the next question, a first-year Academy student, and showed her how to set up the subtraction equation.

The next question, Sasuke went to the bookshelf and dropped down a large history tome in front of the boy. The next question, he had the child write out the entire chart of elemental affinities.

Suddenly, a thousand more questions were directed toward Sasuke all at once. Naruto immediately played interference and sent clones to answer the questions he did know while Sasuke tackled the tougher ones.

Toward the end, there were still four girls who hadn't finished their homework and Sasuke was getting frustrated at why these girls weren't comprehending his perfect explanations and diagrams.

It was Naruto who realized the problem. "Believe me, he's going to stop helping if you continue to get the questions wrong on purpose. _And,_ he's seventeen years older than you. Get out before I ground the lot of you."

The girls squeaked and rushed to gather their books and homework. Naruto glared at Sasuke as if he was soaking wet and wearing swim trunks in the middle of the library. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Again, this wasn't his fault.

Once Naruto calmed down, he sagged against a bookshelf. "Wow, I don't think I've ever gotten through homework time this fast." Naruto looked at Sasuke with such a soft and reverent expression. "Thank you."

Sasuke shrugged. It wasn't much effort on his part. This stuff was easy.

"Tomu was right," Naruto chuckled amused. "You do make a great teacher. What I would give to see you as a Jounin Sensei."

"Don't you _dare_."

"It wouldn't work. The majority of Konoha wouldn't let you anywhere near their children. Perhaps if you hadn't left…" Naruto shrugged. No sense dwelling on what could have been. "I don't know what to do with myself now. Usually by the time I'm done, the clones and the older kids are done with dinner."

Sasuke suggested what they always did when they were bored and stuck with each other. "Spar?"

Naruto reared his head and laughed. "You're on."

* * *

After dinner, with everyone present within the walls, the compound was chaos. Sasuke was more than a little appreciative Naruto had taken to the quiet of his office. Evidently there was an office in the main house. With the older kids home to watch the younger, Naruto practically let them run around and get up to mischief on their own.

Naruto sat at a desk, grumbling to himself, as he went through the paperwork of bills, invoices, and order forms. It was the tedious responsibilities of a Clan Head and Sasuke certainly didn't envy the task.

After several deep sighs and a pause for Naruto to rub at his temples, Sasuke finally asked, "Something wrong?"

He doubted that he could help. His Father had trained him after relations between Itachi and his Father soured, but it was such a long time ago.

"This shit is just stressful," Naruto said frankly. "Tomu sometimes helps me when he's on leave. Ichigo is better at math but he's over at the Hyuuga compound tonight."

Naruto typically had someone to help him but tonight he didn't. Sasuke moved over to grab a pile of paperwork and gave a sharp inhale at the numbers. "You're barely breaking even."

"Surprise, running an orphanage is expensive," Naruto said cynically.

Sasuke could see that. Caring for a large group of children, buying all of the things they needed for school and day-to-day care and paying the hired help made the Uzumaki Clan one of the most expensive compounds in Konoha.

"Sometimes we get donations to the orphanage but it's not often and I don't like begging. The kids do what they can – genin missions, running the shop, and helping out at Ichiraku's. Even with all that you'd think it would be enough but it's not. And I'm the Hokage. I wasn't making as much as I did running S-class missions in ANBU. And the savings I had accumulated six years ago is all but gone."

Sasuke looked over all of the monthly and yearly income and expenses. In fact, it was Tomu who brought in the most money. Followed by Ame, who was currently the only Uzumaki chuunin and constantly on missions. A twist of guilt began to build in Sasuke's stomach. Tomu has not only been financially supporting Sasuke this past year but an entire clan as well. "Have you thought about cutting out ramen night?"

"The kids love it."

"You've got to do something. We're in September and you've already reached the same amount of expenses that you had for the entirety of last year. Perhaps make ramen night a yearly thing – a holiday of sorts."

The suggestion only made Naruto grow small. His head dropped to the desk and his cheek stuck to one of the documents. "It's painful to realize you can't do everything. When I was a kid I thought that once I became Hokage all my problems would go away. Once you reach your dream, that's it, it's just happiness for the rest of your days. No one tells you how easily it can all fall apart."

The sound of Naruto's cynicism was absolutely heartbreaking. The weight of the world was literally pressing down on his shoulders. He had to be a good Dad, a good Clan Head, a good Hokage – and most men could barely do just one of those. Sasuke doubted he could do any of them.

Sasuke returned to the paperwork and looked at them with a sharper eye. "Maybe we don't have to cut out ramen night. A lot of the businesses you were ordering supplies from were owned by the Akimichi and they were charging you a lot more than the item's actual worth. Now that the Akimichi businesses have been handed over we need to go back in and renegotiate these deals for better prices."

It was no wonder why all of the clans were hesitant to vote against the Akimichi in the council. The Akimichi had purposefully set up monopolies on certain items. Who else would you order your toilet tissue from? Or toothpaste? Or bodywash? It was insane how many businesses the Akimichi had their hand in.

"Fuck Sasuke," Naruto snapped harshly, a surprise to Sasuke because he thought he was being helpful. "You come in and help them with their homework as easy as breathing, shit that could save their lives in the field, and I'm helpless and I'm struggling. Then you just take one look at this shit and see the solution. Why are you so damn perfect and fucked up?"

Sasuke didn't have a reply.

"As Hokage, I feel like I know what I'm doing but as a Father it's as if I'm constantly groping through the dark. Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch them struggle because I'm a failure? Watching you today, I've never felt so dumb and inadequate."

Sasuke blinked at Naruto in surprised because all throughout the day, he's felt inadequate beside Naruto. "Naruto," Sasuke crossed his arms and glowered at him. "I call you dobe, but you're not. You are brilliant. You are a genius in ways that people can never comprehend. Your only problem is that you're stretched thin. Not even Naruto Uzumaki, with all his shadow clones, can do everything. Let me help with homework. Let me help with this. Let me take some of the pressure off of you."

Naruto laughed ironically. "I thought you were supposed to be my bodyguard."

"And I thought you asked for a friend."

Sasuke reached forward for the spreadsheets. He dipped a brush into a vial of ink and calculated the expenses and income for the day. Naruto rolled his eyes when Sasuke handed over the entire thing in twenty minutes.

"This takes me hours." Naruto shook his head.

Naruto spend the rest of the time that Sasuke had saved with the kids, of which they were delighted. All too soon it was time for Naruto to get everyone ready for bed. The compound was a whirlwind of clothes, and toothpaste, and bubbles, and laughter.

Once bedtime stories were over and the clan was essentially asleep, Naruto spent the rest of the late hours in his workshop.

It was a cathartic hobby as Naruto puzzled around with lines and curves that made far more sense than an Academy homework problem. Sometimes Ame would join him, testing out theories, but she was away on a mission. The workshop doors were open and Sasuke had Naruto within his sights as Sasuke worked out a few kinks in his earth jutsu. He was still exerting too much chakra in some of them, making them inefficient.

And they worked like that in silence, aware of each other's presence, working on their individual tasks to the background of occasional muttered curses, a shift of dirt, and a calm neither boy ever had during childhood.

Around midnight, Naruto sealed the workshop back up. Naruto approached Sasuke as an earth jutsu exploded outwards in Sasuke's attempt to meld it with lightning.

"Headed to bed. I'm going to sleep with Hinata tonight so you're dismissed," Naruto said awkwardly, with a shift of his foot, and then said, "Thanks again, for everything today."

Just as Naruto fished around in his pocket for the hiraishin kunai, Sasuke suddenly said, "Wait. Naruto, I… I've never told you thank you, for bringing me back to Konoha."

Naruto shook his head and replied honestly. "I gave up on you."

Sasuke understood now. Naruto had too much going on for Sasuke to have room in his life. Naruto had to give him up. They had to let go of each other, walk their own path, make their own mistakes, and become adults.

"I gave up on myself," Sasuke finally said, indicating to Naruto there was no ill will between the two of them because of it.

It was that awkward pause where no one knew what to say, a comma in the conversation, waiting for the rest of the sentence.

"Good night, Sasuke."

"Good night."

Sasuke was relieved to find Hohei waiting for him in the open windowsill of his house. There were so many emotions swelling through him as they burst forth against Hohei's lips. In seconds, he had the Hyuuga hot and writhing underneath him.

Hohei said, curled in post-orgasmic bliss, "I take it you had a good day today."

"Hn," Sasuke said against Hohei's shoulder. After several seconds, Sasuke relaxed his grip so Hohei could crawl out his arms and stumble into the shower.

Today was as enlightening as the day he assaulted the Akimichi with Naruto. Sasuke was slowly beginning to understand the man Naruto had become. Sasuke was slowly beginning to comprehend Naruto in a way Sasuke never did when they were children. Even as genin, Sasuke had been so wrapped up in himself to properly see Naruto. And how could he not have seen it? How could he not have seen how utterly brilliant this boy would become?

Because Naruto Uzumaki was a good Hokage, a good Clan Head, a good father, and a good friend.

For the first time since the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke Uchiha went asleep unable to wait and see what the next day held in store for him.

* * *

Rocket ships apparently.

Boruto had the splendid idea of wanting to go to the moon. So Naruto made a deal with him. If he could get a hiraishin kunai to the moon, then Naruto would take him there. It was suddenly a compound wide science project, combining the engineering imagination of seven-year olds and barely controlled chakra to launch a kunai to the moon.

One impressive attempt made it as high as the clouds.

The next day, Naruto had cleared the entire compound and made a human-sized shogi board.

The next day, they went hiking up the Kumo mountain ranges. Then it was a tour through the rice terraces of Sound Country, playing underneath the massive waterfalls of Waterfall Country, and going wild at the new amusement park at the Kiri Resorts.

Sasuke couldn't believe that there was once a time he preferred to isolate himself away from the noise and the chaos to imagine all the ways Orochimaru was coming for him.

That was no life at all.

* * *

Naruto peeked his head out of his workshop one day and watched the tail-end of Sasuke's unsuccessful jump off the roof. Sasuke crash-landed on the ground in a graceful tumble of limbs. Naruto didn't understand how the guy could make even falling on your ass look graceful. "Sasuke, what the fuck are you doing?"

Sasuke grumbled as he picked himself up and dusted the dirt off his pants. "Learning wind chakra."

And Sasuke called him an idiot. "Dobe, you have Konoha's number one expert in wind jutsu right here and you don't even ask for help?"

Sasuke gave him a stubborn pout.

"Keep falling on your face then."

"Help? My face would appreciate it."

"I don't know. I think your face could use a few more things smashing into it."

"It's not my face's fault it's the constant subject of your kid's wet dreams."

"OH MY GOD, _Sasuke,_ that's not even- you are a terrible person." Naruto proclaimed. "I will seriously lock you in a deep dark cell to protect the innocence of Konoha's children. I don't understand what's even so attractive?! You're too old for them, you're not as funny as you think you are, and yet all the kids either have a crush on you or think you're cool."

Sasuke waited a moment for Naruto to get his rant out. It wasn't the first time he's heard it. And honestly, he didn't know what to do to make things better. He wasn't going to carve up his face for the sake of Naruto's kids.

Once Naruto ran out of steam, Sasuke asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, fine," Naruto said as he moved over toward Sasuke. "Why are you learning wind jutsu anyway?"

"I copied the dust release from Oonoki before I killed him. I thought it could be useful against Orochimaru as it breaks things down on a molecular level and it could prove advantageous since Orochimaru doesn't know I have the technique. But it requires wind, earth, and fire. I can manage to do the jutsu with just earth and fire but it really just creates a huge explosion instead of breaking things down by molecule. I need wind to perfect it." Then Sasuke added more quickly, "And I copied his gravity release, but I need both earth and wind to do that. Earth to control the gravity and Wind to control the actual direction I move."

"You want to fly?"

"You have speed with your sage mode. I figured it would make us even."

Naruto laughed. "Admit it Sasuke, you were one of those kids that always wanted to fly."

"It seemed more achievable that some blond-dobe becoming Hokage." Sasuke gave a nostalgic smile. "During the Fourth Shinobi War, I flew with Susanoo. It was… awesome."

"Okay, I've got to admit, that was badass." Naruto laughed, and couldn't believe how easy it was to laugh about it now. At the time, there was just anger and betrayal and a clash of wills.

Naruto wiped his ink-splotched hands on his pants and held them out toward Sasuke. "Honestly, the main reason that you're failing is because you don't understand wind jutsu. The more you understand and experience, the easier it is to control."

Sasuke knew that but evidently he was doing something wrong. Sasuke knew would never be able to master the other elements like he could with fire but at the very least, he wanted a basic understanding of them.

"Open your chakra to me and I'll show you what it feels like."

Naruto's chakra flow swept over Sasuke. The initial feel of it was overwhelming, like an ocean whose depths were fathomless. _So much fucking chakra._ It seemed so easy to let the strength of its current pull you under. It took a strong sort of will to keep their breath. Sasuke imagined swimming down into the darkness, into the unknown where monsters lived. It had a completely different feel than when they were kids and Naruto was linked to the Kyuubi, now his chakra had time to form its own distinct personality instead of constantly fighting to the tug and pull of another's chakra.

"You feel like water to me," Sasuke whispered softly with Naruto's chakra cloaking him. "Like how I would imagine a Uzumaki of the Whirlpool to feel."

"Which is weird, right? Since I'm better at wind?" Naruto invoked wind chakra. A breeze swept through the rolling waves but it took only a moment for things to turn. A rolling storm swept through, howling with a fierce wind that buffeted Sasuke from all directions. The wind turned the waves. The riptide began to turn, swirling, sucking him down, down, until he was Naruto's forever.

Naruto abruptly released him. Sasuke took in a sharp breath because it had been so easy to drown and sink peacefully down – like the chakra manifestation of Talk no Jutsu. Naruto's personality was easy enough to have you sinking before you even realize what's happening.

He understood wind chakra a little better now. It was a thin wire, like hanging on the edge between buoyancy and an unexpected gale. Sasuke had assumed that wind chakra was all about being light and airy, but instead it was fickle and unpredictable.

Sasuke understood Naruto a little better now too. He was more than the water that Sasuke had first felt. He was the vastness of water and the capriciousness of wind.

"Want to feel something cool?" Naruto asked mischievously. Sasuke nodded, too much under Naruto's influence to want to take a breath.

The nature of Naruto's chakra suddenly changed. Instead of focusing inwards, it reflected outwards. It was like looking through the world with a different lens. It was not quite the sharingan but something altogether different. There was chakra everywhere, embedded in every surface and flowing through the veins of everything living thing – the pliant wood that made up the workshop, the metal of their kunai forged with rich minerals of the earth, the plant life, even the joining of their hands.

It was as if he could hear the world breathing. The moon was singing. The grass was dancing to a song of breeze. It tasted sweet on Sasuke's tongue. The world was far more than what just the human eye could see, and within it, they were such a small and insignificant part of it.

Almost timidly, Naruto pulled outwards and turned inwards. Sasuke suddenly didn't have the mental capacity to process or describe what he was experiencing even in metaphors. Colors. Smells. Emotions. Everything that reminded him all at once of Naruto, Naruto, Naruto.

Then Naruto began to shift focus.

"No, please," Sasuke sobbed as the intimate introspection swiveled towards Sasuke's core.

And it was filled with everything. Because he was looking at himself he understood more of what he saw, even though there was a vast majority more that he didn't understand – the red of the sharingan, the white of the Uchiha fan, the blue of Naruto's eyes, the dark blue of Itachi's ninja boots. The smell of his mother's cookies. The smell of blood on the night of the massacre. The smell of maple leaves. Hate. Anger. Despair. Sorrow. Love. Contentment. Peace.

Sasuke didn't understand. He was supposed to be ugly and twisted up inside. He was supposed to be poisoned and tainted. Not this.

Sasuke clung to Naruto's legs and sobbed into his knees. "I'm sorry," Naruto whispered softly as he dragged his fingers through Sasuke's hair. "I should have warned you."

"That was nature chakra?" Sasuke choke out, not quite able to lift his head just yet. He was shaking. The thrum of it was still flowing through his chakra. And he couldn't bring himself to let Naruto go. He needed to be connected to something, to someone, to everything.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would affect you this much. What's wrong?"

" _I'm beautiful_." He was fucking beautiful. Sasuke sobbed again. Everyone told him but it was the first time he truly believed it.

Naruto's voice went soft in understanding. "Of course you are."

* * *

"No work today?" Sasuke asked as he sat atop a stump in the middle of Tomu's apparent construction site. Sasuke had woken up this morning and Naruto had sent him off in this general direction. Usually, Tomu came home around dinner time. Tomu would help Naruto wrestle the kids into beds. And afterwards, when Naruto was in the workshop and Sasuke was working on jutsu or in the forge, Tomu was here slowly working on the new addition of the nursery.

Tomu wiped his hands on his pants after he finished hammering a nail into the beam. The wooden frame was coming along nicely. "Things are beginning to slow down everywhere for everyone. The absence of the Akimichi left a huge hole of power. It's taken ANBU quite a while to gain control of all the cockroaches but I'm confident enough now to start delegating more and more tasks to my team. So, day off. I really needed to finish this frame."

"Do you need help?"

"Do you know how to build a house?"

"Not really."

Tomu shook his head and pointed. "Bring that over here."

Sasuke spent the read of the day as Tomu's manual labor but it was fascinating to watch Tomu work. There was a focus about it that calmed the rougher edges of Tomu that had been exposed ever since Mushi's death. Tomu had a sense of pride in his ability to imagine, and construct, and build.

"You seem better," Sasuke noted as the sun was beginning to set.

"I like doing this. I like my job in ANBU – the part that involves investigating, talking to people, and putting puzzles together. It's nice to take a break from the bloody side of things. And let's face it, even though the world now knows about the Kyuubi, I firmly believed that the Akimichi was the threat with the highest chance of getting to Naruto. The rest are outside the walls of Konoha and they have to go through an entire army first."

There was some truth to it. Thus far, the closest anyone has gotten to Naruto was an Akimichi genin. The rest were taken care of before they even reached Fire Country.

"It feels good to breathe again." Tomu glanced over at Sasuke. "You seem better."

Sasuke said in slow agreement, "It feels good to breathe again."

They worked in silent companionship into the night. He didn't have anything better to do. Hohei was gone on a mission. By the time they were finished, it was the most progress Tomu has gotten on the nursery so far. They've even gotten a few of the walls up.

Suddenly the earth quake. Oddly enough, Sasuke's first thought was Sakura. The delayed sound of an explosion came seconds later. A brilliant blue light glowed over the roof of the houses and then died soon afterwards.

"It's Naruto," Tomu said before Sasuke charged forward to kill any intruder. Sasuke remained wary judging by the frown on Tomu's face. "Something is wrong. Naruto doesn't go that hard on the training field unless something is really wrong."

They jumped atop the nursery roof, ran through the park, over the shed, and into the training field. Naruto was at the center of a crater repelling over a hundred of clones. Tomu elbowed Sasuke in the arm and waved a hand in Naruto's direction. "This isn't my expertise."

Sasuke huffed and then threw off his shirt. Sasuke slid down the edge of the crater, jumped, and landed a literal bolt of lightning in its center. The surrounding charge eliminated the shadow clones and Naruto defended against the blast with tightly woven wind chakra.

Naruto didn't miss a beat but dropped back and flooded the entire crater with a water jutsu. Before Sasuke could swim to the surface he was caught in the powerful tug of a whirlpool. He needed to take a breath to do a fire jutsu, so instead he prepared an earth jutsu that caught the water and turned into a thick sludge of mud.

Covered in mud, they came together in furious blows of taijutsu. If Naruto considered chakra an extension of self, Sasuke wondered if this was a necessity. They were S-class ninja, still, despite all the rest that they have lost. Their chakra was so accustomed to violence that this was a welcome release.

Neither could pick themselves up again. They rested beside each other, chest heaving, lungs burning, and muscles screaming. But it was good. It was so fucking good.

Tomu crouched over Naruto with two bottles of water. "Nii-san, what's wrong?"

Naruto grabbed the bottle of water and pressed the cold against his cheek. Sasuke twisted the cap and immediately began to drink. "It's nothing," Naruto breathed. "It's fine."

Tomu gave Naruto that same look he gave to Sasuke when he refused to tolerate bullshit. Tomu paused thoughtfully, and then asked, "Is it Hinata?"

Naruto reached up with the water bottle and popped Tomu's forehead with it. "You are annoyingly astute."

"You've told me that before. What's going on? You two get in a fight again?"

Sasuke had no idea they were even having problems. Naruto pulled himself up. He sat cross-legged and pouted into his water bottle like one of his kids. "Did I ever tell you about the deal?"

"I don't think so," Tomu answered as he sat down on the ground.

"Back when Hinata was pregnant with…" Naruto stopped and then snapped his head towards Sasuke.

Sasuke gave a flat look. "When she was pregnant with Boruto. Yeah, I got that."

"Seriously?! How? I've sealed his hair and eyes into a completely different color."

"Naruto, the kid talks about taking rocket ships to the moon. And you can change how he looks all you want but you can't change his chakra. At the age of four, his chakra coils can already bear the chakra capacity of a chuunin. Like you, he's going to be a chakra powerhouse when he grows up. It was obvious the first day I was here."

"You might need to start teaching him some chakra suppression techniques," Tomu considered.

"Sasuke, I hope I don't have to reiterate this but-"

Sasuke rolled over in the other direction and huffed. "No, Naruto. I'm not going to tell anyone about your secret lovechild."

Even though Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn't, he needed to hear the words. He was always eternally grateful that the secret the Akimichi uncovered was the secret of the Kyuubi. He was honestly afraid of what could happen if the world knew he had a biological child. Naruto could protect himself but Boruto was still too little to have his father's enemies.

"The deal?" Tomu urged.

"Yeah, right. Back when Hinata was pregnant with Boruto, we had a deal. If he wasn't born with the byakugan, I'd raise him here in the compound. If he was, then Hinata will raise him with the Hyuuga. According to Hinata, extra chakra nodes are forming around my daughter's eyes. She going to be born with the byakugan."

"So Hinata is going to raise her?" Tomu asked.

Naruto combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. "It's fair. Hinata sees Boruto as often as she can but for the most part she's only watched most of his growing up. Hinata will "adopt" our daughter from a recently deceased clan member. I want Hinata to have the opportunity to hold our daughter out in public and claim its hers. Hinata deserves that but I deserve to be there too. I don't know if I can see Hima go to the Hyuuga compound."

"And in the end, I question what was all this for? I've been content with this thing that Hinata and I have but the closer the pregnancy come to term the angrier I get. I shouldn't be angry for the birth of my daughter. Normal people don't have to do this. Normal people get married when they love each other. I thought I wanted this pregnancy, I was the one who asked for this pregnancy, but its tearing me apart. Hinata has accepted that this is the best we could ever have and she's happy with it. But I don't know if I am anymore."

"I love with Hinata. Kami, I love Hinata with everything that I am. She's the mother of my children. And I feel guilty because I want more. I feel bad for the wanting because what Hinata and I have is a hell of a lot more than what most people can claim."

"I don't know. I'm just frustrated is all. Things will get better when Hima gets here," Naruto nodded as if trying to convince himself, "Things will get better."

Sasuke could hit Naruto in the face as many times as he wants but this sure as fuck wasn't his expertise. He wanted Naruto to be happy with the decisions he's made. One of them needed to be.

He was almost grateful to have Tomu here, who could reach out and hold Naruto's hand, who could be the one to say, "Have you ever considered that this is how far you and Hinata go?"

Naruto looked at Tomu gobsmacked, _are you fucking insane_?

Naruto jolted away. Tomu raised his hands at an attempt to pacify. "Or you two could work things out, this is just a roadblock, and you'll live happily ever after but Naruto, it's been almost six years since the war and this is one of the most fucked up versions of happily ever after I've ever seen."

Naruto locked his jaw in determination and Sasuke has seen that face before. It was the face when Sasuke told him, 'no, I'm not returning to Konoha.' Naruto stood up and declared fiercely, "There is no such thing as a fucking happily ever after. No one gets everything they want. I just need to make this work."

Then Naruto stormed off towards the house.

Sasuke looked up at Tomu who shrugged his shoulders. "Someone had to tell him."

* * *

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" Somehow, Naruto has found that question all too familiar in the past month. He's always been sensitive to noise and so when he heard pans knocking together down in the kitchen, he figured it was one of the kids sneaking a snack. Naruto ruffled his fingers through his bedhair and peeked from under sleep-heavy eyes at Sasuke in the kitchen.

And for all the times Naruto asks the same question, Sasuke never gives a straight answer. Sometimes Naruto wonders if Sasuke knows what he's doing half the time. Naruto drags himself into the kitchen and note the batter Sasuke was mixing in the bowl. It was weird. Why wasn't Sasuke cooking in his house? (Which, Naruto doesn't know when he began to consider the forge as Sasuke's house.)

"Are you baking cookies?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Hn."

"You know, the moment the kids smell this it's going to be a blood bath – battles fought, hearts broken, friendships ruined. I really hope you're planning to make enough for the whole clan." Naruto learned that the hard way. If you don't have enough to make for everyone, don't bother.

Sasuke waved a hand at the line of ingredients on the counter: chocolate chips, raisins, macadamia nut. Sasuke looked like he had planned ahead. Then Sasuke dropped a metal pan in front of Naruto. Naruto shook his head but effortlessly began to make a fresh batch.

"Cookies?" Ichigo asked when he poked his head into the kitchen. Naruto waved him over. He was not surprised that Ichigo had woken up. Since he was younger, Ichigo has always had an irregular sleep schedule. Ichigo easily fell in step and plopped down cookie batter on the metal sheets.

"Are you making cookies for _breakfast_?" Tomu said in obvious disapproval.

"It's Saturday!" Naruto exclaimed, as if it was his idea in the first place. Tomu shook his head, grumbled, and went to take a shower.

One by one, the smell of cookies began to lure children out of their beds. An hour later, the Uzumaki clan was up and high on sugar. Naruto leaned against the counter and watched children play and joke around, feet thundering through the house and most still in their pajamas. He stuffed a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth.

"I thought you didn't like sweets?" Naruto asked when Sasuke picked up oatmeal cinnamon raisin.

"I lied." _I lied to myself._ Sasuke bit off a piece and savored the crumble of oatmeal and cinnamon. He leaned against the counter beside Naruto. Sometimes he enjoyed the noise and didn't know how he could ever bear a quiet compound ever again. Even all the way from his house, there was constant noise in the background from kids playing in the distance.

It was so weird how for so long he's felt unsure of himself in his own skin, of how much he didn't belong in Konoha until he had so easily slid into life here. It was as if the compound had left a space open for him, as if it was always waiting for him to return home and no matter what had happened or how much the world has changed, he would always be needed here.

It came out of nowhere.

No, that's not right. It's always been there, hovering on the edge, creeping dangerously closer whenever he was alone. It woke him up last night and sent Sasuke in a desperate panic to do something with his hands. But that's when he was alone. It wasn't supposed to happen now when he was surrounded by the entire clan.

Sasuke's vision blurred. He gripped the counter too hard, he came down on a metal cookie sheet and sent the entire thing flying. Cookies broke against the floor like wasted pitiful things. He grabbed at the closest item, an oven mitt, and panicked because it couldn't protect him. Nothing could.

This couldn't last.

Something was bound to happen – Orochimaru showing up again, Naruto's enemies coming after him, the Next World War, _something_. He had learned at a young age that even though everything could be going right in the world, one day you wake up and your brother has massacred the entire clan.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke could barely hear Naruto's voice behind the sound of heavy breathing. It was like the days following the massacre of the clan – where everything was different, sounds were distant, everything tasted like ash, and the stench of death was all he smelled. He was suddenly trapped in this vice of terror.

"Out!" Naruto demanded sharply to the kids, who had been eyeing the cookies that fell to the floor and uncertain whether they wanted to make a run for them or not. Naruto didn't know what brought on this sudden panic attack but he knew to tread carefully around the S-class ninja.

Naruto slowly reached for the oven mitt first. "Sasuke, the oven is still open. Let's move you away before you burn yourself." Naruto gently peeled the oven mitt out of his fingers and slid his hand down Sasuke's arm. Sasuke melted forward into Naruto's embrace. Over Sasuke's shoulder, Tomu rushed into the kitchen and froze to a stop at the scene.

Tomu dug in his pocket and threw a hiraishin kunai toward Naruto. Naruto caught it, before Tomu backed out of the kitchen to make sure the kids didn't interfere. Just in case things took a turn for the worse, Naruto needed to get Sasuke out of here and away from the kids. Without hesitation, he used the hiraishin kunai to take them just inside the front door of Sasuke's house.

Tucked away from everyone else, in a safe place, and away from all the unknowns that could attack him, Sasuke finally managed a breath.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"I'm _too_ happy." Sasuke said with real palatable fear that broke Naruto's heart. All Naruto had ever wanted for Sasuke was peace and a chance at happiness but Sasuke couldn't even enjoy it when he had it.

" _I'm going to lose you_ ," Sasuke said. It was fact. As immutable as the cycle of seasons.

 _How could Sasuke have let this happen?_ What happened this past month? How could he have gotten so close to Naruto without paying attention? How could he have let this happen? Naruto was going to die because of him, because he was too happy, and life always turns to shit for Sasuke. The massacre happened and his guilt and anger was supposed to be endless. It was supposed to be enough to punish him for all of his mistakes. Then how could he have allowed himself to do such a stupid thing as be happy?

Perhaps not tomorrow, or the next day, but one day he was going to wake up truly and utterly alone. Naruto, Tomu, and Sakura would be dead. And that was the single most painful thing Sasuke could ever imagined because he's experience complete and total loss once before.

"Let's get you to bed. You're probably tired. You've been up all night," Naruto reasoned. Sasuke moved mechanically and it was enough for Naruto to help him up the stairs.

Naruto gently helped him into the futon, except when he attempted to move away, the panic attack crested all over again. "Don't leave me," Sasuke begged.

And shit, Naruto couldn't walk away from this anymore than his shadow clone could walk away from Ame. It was Sasuke who arranged their limbs, pulling Naruto with sudden conviction forward, and pressed his forehead against Naruto's shirt.

Naruto rubbed at Sasuke's shoulder, then glided his fingers through Sasuke's hair. "I'm not leaving. I'm not going to leave you ever again. I promise."

Naruto frowned the moment he made that promise.

* * *

Naruto lied. When Sasuke woke up he was alone.

Sasuke stared into the darkness, not surprised. It was almost a relief to feel the familiar ache of loss in his chest, even if it was just the loss of Naruto's comfort and warmth. His eyes ached, whether it was because of the crying or his bloodline was reacting to the heightened state of emotions he did not know. Running on auto-pilot, Sasuke took a shower and dressed.

Sasuke found Naruto in his kitchen when he went downstairs. Although he guessed it was fair. He had been in Naruto's kitchen earlier that morning. Was he making ramen? Naruto glanced over at him as he came down and sat a steaming bowl of ramen onto the table.

Things felt different.

Naruto was distant. Sasuke didn't know how he had fucked things up but he wasn't surprised that he did. Sasuke could only mutter a gruff, "Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It happens."

Sasuke noted that Naruto was even keeping a physical distance, preferring to stand over by the stove with his bowl of ramen instead of joining Sasuke at the table. Just as Sasuke was about finished his both, there was a knock on the door. Both men tilted their heads curiously.

Sasuke opened the door to the sight of children holding flowers and cards. Tomu was there, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "I couldn't stop them."

Something in Sasuke broke at the sight of Tomu. Sasuke surged forward and pulled Tomu into a sudden hug. After a shocked moment, Tomu leaned into the hug and returned it with familial love and concern. There were questions in Tomu's eyes and Sasuke couldn't answer any of them. All he knew, was that for just a moment, Sasuke needed to hold him.

Then Sasuke got his shit together and shoved back so fast that Tomu tripped off balance. "Dude, your hugs are a work in progress."

"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he came up curiously to the door.

"Nii-san told us how Uncle Sasuke was sick. We made get-well cards to make him feel better!" Boruto exclaimed.

Sasuke was suddenly bum-rushed with a stack of cards that the children crowded into his arms. "Read them! Read them!"

"I guess you've got no choice but to read them all."

Sasuke gave Naruto a betrayed stared. Then they sat down on the veranda as Sasuke stacked the cards beside him. Sasuke picked up the first one, decorated with heart and stars. It read in messy crayon letters, 'Get Well Soon.'

One child, Shiroi (because crazy enough, he was beginning to learn their names) raised her hand and exclaimed, "Mine!"

The second one was drawn by a real budding artist. There were sketches of what looked like Sasuke and Naruto sparring as stick figures.

Sasuke read them all aloud but one. It wasn't decorated. It was simply a folded sheet of paper. It was more of a letter than a card. It read:

_Thank you – Ichigo._

And at the end of it all, Sasuke did feel better.

* * *

The shit-storm Sasuke had been expecting came two days later. But it wasn't Sasuke's world that had been upended.

They were in the forests in the backyard of the Uzumaki compound building a labyrinth maze of tree houses. They were just completing the finishing touches on the rope bridges that connect one house from another when Naruto suddenly froze.

"I need to get to the office."

Before Sasuke could even reply, Naruto was already gone. Sasuke was the Kage's bodyguard and supposed to go wherever the original body was. But Naruto had just left him. There were shadow clones left behind so Sasuke wasn't too worried about the kids. Sasuke rushed home to get dressed.

By the time ANBU Fox entered the Kage's Tower, the atmosphere was tense. Right before he reached the door, the secretary shook her head. "He requested to be alone."

Fox went in anyways and shut the door firmly behind him. Naruto had dropped his head in his hands and it was clear he had ordered everyone out. What had he missed in the ten minutes they were apart?

"Naruto, what's going on?"

Naruto sucked in a breath as he pulled up an exhausted expression. "One of our clients who requested an escort mission returned unexpectedly. Evidently he and his genin escort were accosted by bandits on the road. The genin and Jounin Sensei protected the client so he could escape and make it back to Konoha. I sent a shadow clone after the escort team's last known location.

They're dead."

Naruto shook his head, as if forcefully trying to jolt him out of inaction. "I've got black letters to write."

Naruto went into his drawer and grabbed the black envelopes. He began to address the families, explain what had happened, and wrote the time in which their names would go on the memorial stone. Naruto did this so often it was second-nature to him now. Except when he got to the last letter he didn't know what to write.

" _How am I supposed to tell the kids_?" Naruto asked the paper angrily.

It was then that Sasuke realized the gravity of what had happened. One of the genin had been a Uzumaki.

Sasuke didn't know what he could do. Naruto has been distant ever since Sasuke's apparent episode and didn't even know if Naruto would welcome or want comfort from him. So Sasuke stood there, in the middle of the office, feeling awkward and all the world that Sakura or Tomu were in his shoes right now. Honestly, Sasuke would rather face Orochimaru that Naruto's grief.

"I've killed her, Sasuke." Naruto mumbled numbly. It was the first Uzumaki of the generation to die on a mission. There have been close calls but more and more kids were graduating from the academy and it was only a matter of time.

No. Sasuke would not stand for that. He stomped forward and physically shoved Naruto. The chair scooted back against the window. Naruto was looking at him with a shocked expression.

"No," Sasuke told him. "Your daughter _chose_ to become a ninja. She could have easily chosen to refuse the academy, because you made sure that was an option, but she chose to become a ninja anyways. And I know she loved you. All those kids fucking love you. You made sure she lived a good life. She had a good life, Naruto. From my point of view, that's the absolute best a parent can do. So don't you dare say you killed that girl. You loved her, that's all that matters."

Sasuke turned and slapped the black envelope onto the desk because fuck, Naruto shouldn't have to do this for his own daughter. He brusquely copied one of the other letters. Naruto can choose whether or not he wanted to deliver it to the clan but it had to go into Konoha's archives. When he was finished he turned back to Naruto's blank mask.

Sasuke delivered a sharp kick to Naruto's leg in an attempt to jolt him out of this apathy. Sasuke leaned forward with his own promise.

"Shit's going to happen." It's going to happen. It always does. "But we're going to get through. I promise, we're going to get through."

* * *

Sasuke should have seen it coming. After all, he was there with Naruto through the days leading up to the funeral. In those days, Naruto had spread himself thin with duties to the clan. Although orphans were generally no stranger to death, sometimes it hit them harder or left them numb or left them shrugging their shoulders and going about their day. And Naruto adjusted himself to each person and comforted every range of grief. A lot of his time was filled with funeral preparations and making choices that would most likely become Uzumaki tradition. Instead of working in his workshop at the end of the day, Naruto simply collapsed in exhaustion.

The days were taking a toll on Naruto, slowly chipping away at his mental and emotional fortitude. To be frank, Sasuke was surprised Naruto could keep it together until the funeral. And after that… Sasuke should have seen the storm coming.

But like everyone else, you easily forget that Naruto isn't perfect.

The day after the funeral Sasuke woke up at sunrise as usual. Clones were getting the kids ready for school but since Tomu had officially taken off leave from ANBU to be with the clan during such a difficult period, the original Naruto was still in bed with covers pulled over his head.

Around the time the kids were sent off to school, Naruto dragged himself out of bed and slammed the bathroom door behind him. Sasuke flipped through Icha Icha Tactics. When he finished the chapter, Sasuke raised his head and stared at the bathroom.

Boruto should have come running up the stairs by now, which probably meant Tomu knew how to keep his attention.

Sasuke gave the bathroom door another look. Come to think of it, he hasn't heard running water. Then the worst possible scenarios went through his head. Sasuke immediately knocked on the door and when he heard no answer he immediately broke the door open.

At first glance, Sasuke almost missed him. Naruto was sitting in the bathtub with his head tucked into his arms. Naruto was still in pajamas – a white t-shirt and noodle printed pajamas that were a gift from the kids.

He didn't bother asking Naruto if he was alright. Of course he wasn't. He had just buried a child. Sasuke was about to retreat and go get Tomu. He had no right to offer the man comfort and he had no doubt that if he wasn't living in the compound, he'd never even see this side of Naruto.

Then Naruto spoke with a darkness in his voice that curled at the tip of Sasuke's toes. "I bet sometimes you think you're the worst one of us. You don't think I've made bad choices that leave regrets clinging to me like a shadow? You don't think I hate myself sometimes? You don't think I need to protect this village and these children as atonement for the skeletons in my closet? The only real difference between you and I, is that my actions were sanctioned by the village while yours were not. I'm a monster Sasuke. I have no right to judge you.

And yet still I do. Weighing scales, I know my hatred for you is petty. But I can't stop hating you because of how much you've hurt me. That's fucked up, right? I should care about all the other shit, about all of the other dumb shit you've done, but I hate you because you've hurt me."

Sasuke was a little taken aback by confession. He always figured that Naruto refuses to forgive him for the Kage summit, and the Fourth Shinobi War, and trying to kill him and the rest of Team Seven. The answer was so much simpler and yet all the more frightening.

"You refuse to forgive me because I've hurt you?" Sasuke asked numb, until the anger started settling in. It put things in perspective. It's as if he's dealing with the spiteful anger of a child rather than the maturity and wisdom of an Hokage. "I've hurt everyone! Is this about the Valley? This is still about the Valley? It's always about the fucking Valley of the End! That was years ago Naruto. Why can't you let it go?!"

Sasuke found himself suddenly shoved back into the bathroom cabinets. Naruto was a raging bull before him and it was obvious he wanted to break and smash and hit. Although this time, Sasuke wasn't sure it wasn't going to kill him.

Naruto's expression was bitter and full of disgust. "You once claimed that I could never understand your trauma because it was different than mine."

"I shouldn't have-"

Sasuke's back ached with the way Naruto suddenly had him pinned to the cracked bedroom mirror.

"I sought to understand you but you never gave one shit to understanding me. Can you even imagine what it's like to grow up despised and hated and never understanding why? You were practically the first friend I ever had and when you left, it fucked me up. You never once considered that maybe I had to go chasing after you for three years because if I hadn't, it would have ended me. So fuck you, Sasuke. Fuck you."

Almost seventeen years later, Sasuke finally _understood_.

He understood _why_ Naruto had been so hurt. He had hurt a young boy who had never known the innocent love of family or the unconditional love of parents, who had thought he had found some sort of love, be it familial, friendship, or even deeper, with Sasuke. And Sasuke had stomped all over it. Betrayed him like Sensei Mizumi had, betrayed him like the village had, betrayed him like his parents had – except it meant more with Sasuke because Naruto had allowed himself to open his heart. Kami, he had been such an ass.

The Valley of the End made so much more sense when Sasuke finally stopped thinking in terms of himself. He was a terrible friend and a terrible person and he couldn't fault Naruto for hating him for that.

When Sasuke had finally processed all of this, Naruto was already gone.

* * *

Sasuke honestly appreciated Hohei because he could always read a mood and knew when it was best not to appear. And Sasuke was in a foul one, upset with how things were left between him and Naruto. Looking back at it, he knew Naruto was lashing out. Naruto didn't often hurt others but that wasn't the case when Sasuke was around and it left Naruto no qualms hurting Sasuke with hard truths.

There was a knock on his door.

When Sasuke recognized the chakra signature, he was still tense. Wary, Sasuke opened the door to reveal Naruto leaned against the post with a thoughtful frown to his expression. Sasuke could smell the dry heat and dust on Naruto's clothes. It was evident Naruto he had fled to Suna.

Naruto remained on the porch as he said, "I never meant to say all that."

Sasuke shrugged. "You needed to. And you were right. I didn't care how much it would hurt you. All I cared about was revenge, power, and severing a bond. I was self-absorbed. I never understood how much I hurt you until now. I never understood why you were hurt until now."

Naruto heaved a great sigh and said flatly, "According to my therapist, I have abandonment issues and a hero complex. It's like - I understand the sacrifices that my parents made for the village but it doesn't redeem the hurt of growing up without them. I understand your decisions, it's not like I didn't get that you needed revenge against your brother, but the understanding never redeemed the hurt of the betrayal. I forgave my parents because I had to – it's simply less shit weighing you down. I'll forgive you because I have to," Naruto shook his head softly, "But I'm not there yet."

"And these are my issues Sasuke. You are not at fault for all of them." Naruto dragged fingers through his hair. "You're working hard to heal yourself. I see that. And I respect that because I'm still working my shit out too."

Sasuke nodded his head slowly. He thinks he understood. This distance between Naruto and Sasuke, wasn't solely because of _Sasuke_. There were other factors he never even considered because he never took the time to see his actions from another's point of view.

"Want to come in for a drink?" Sasuke offered as he stepped back. Naruto considered it for a moment before coming in. He only had sake currently in his cabinets and poured them both a drink. He had a traditional dining table and by the time he had returned with the alcohol, Naruto had already thrown off his shoes and sprawled across the wooden floor.

"You work everything out while you were in Suna?"

Naruto didn't even flinch from the fact Sasuke had figure it out where he had fled. "If you mean Gaara sat and listened to me mope and whine, then yes," Naruto huffed and tossed back an entire shot in one gulp. Sakura would be proud. "Then he told me to go back home and that I was avoiding the real problem. And I _know_ , and," Naruto gave himself a depreciating laugh, "I was feeling guilty that I snapped at you this morning. I didn't mean to put all than on you. It's been a stressful couple of days."

"You just lost a child. I understand what it's like to lose family."

Naruto tossed back another one. "Why have I done everything that I have done if I can't protect my children? It hurts that it's not enough. But what other options do we have? Infinite Tsukiyomi? A violent and bloody revolution? I don't have all the answers and that scares me sometimes."

It suddenly occurred to Sasuke that even though Naruto was a good Hokage and a good father, sometimes he was the imperfect mess of a man in front of him. Naruto loved fully, completely, and wholeheartedly. But he also had a darkness that used to being overshadowed by the Kyuubi. Once a time ago, Naruto had been afraid to dwell in it because of the Kyuubi's presence. But now the anger and resentment and bitterness were on the edges of his sleeves.

"I sent her on that mission. I chose that mission. And I'll have to stuff that guilt with all the rest of the ninja who never made it back alive. This is a stupid fucking job and I hate it Sasuke. I hate it."

Sasuke's eyes widened at Naruto's confession. It was almost a state of stunned shock because being Hokage was everything Naruto had wanted. Naruto scoffed bitterly as he downed another cup. "You look surprised Sasuke."

"It was your dream. It's what you fought me for during the Fourth Shinobi War."

"Sasuke, I was a stupid kid as much as you were. I wanted everything for the village to recognize me, to acknowledge me, to see me apart from the Kyuubi. I thought becoming Hokage would bring me all of those things but in actuality I had already earned it after the Fourth Shinobi War. When you're a kid, looking for hope, you don't dare think of what happens if your dreams aren't all it's cracked up to be." Naruto scrunched his nose. "I'll never tell my kids that though. Despite it all, I do believe kids are supposed to dream. That's how the world changes."

There was a wisdom to Naruto that was never there before; an understanding that he had of the world that was never there before. Sasuke remembered how he thought Naruto was bright, so bright it would often blind you. Naruto had almost blinded him again, but Sasuke had learned better in these quiet moments, when Naruto lowered his defenses and a resilient darkness dimmed him enough to see all of the hidden parts of him.

Sasuke had always thought that Naruto's idealism was aggravating, especially to one whose clan was murdered by his own brother. But Naruto's mistakes had tempered that unrealistic idealism of his into something reasonable and tangible enough to do actual good. In an inexplicable way, Sasuke thought Naruto's mistakes made him more beautiful.

Was it wrong of him to love Naruto's damaged and burnt pieces? Was it wrong of him to love this vulnerability of Naruto's that only a close few had a chance to see? Was it wrong of him to want to strip Naruto of every guarded layer and every fucking shadow clone he hid behind to bask in the core of who he was?

And Sasuke thought he understood but he's always been wrong. He had feelings for Naruto back in the Valley, and perhaps they were childish and fledgling and Sasuke never really understood them. But whatever those feelings were did not compare to now.

This has to be what falling in love feels like.

And it scared him that he could feel like this. This revelation was terrifying, and frightening, and Sasuke's panic was forgotten on the skip of a heartbeat when Naruto's set his blue eyes on him. Naruto frowned.

"What are you doing?" Naruto dragged a full cup over to Sasuke. "I am not the only one getting drunk tonight. Drink."

Sasuke indulged Naruto and chased him cup for cup. Sasuke didn't remember what they talked about after that but he remembered Naruto's soft smiles, his unrestrained laughter, the timbre of his voice and all the things that sent Sasuke's heart racing.

The next morning, they woke up on the other side of Bear Country.

* * *

Several days after the burial, Naruto randomly said one day in his workshop, "I should put the seal on you."

"Huh?" Sasuke asked, drawing his attention away from the different three-dimensional shapes of dust release he was trying to master.

"The Uzumaki seal, I should put it on you."

"You mean the seal that Orochimaru can manipulate to poison your chakra?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, now we know he can do that and I thought you were an S-class ninja. You're telling me you can't keep him from touching you for just a few seconds for you to activate the seal? If you're in danger I should know about it."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "You're the one Orochimaru is most likely to target if he shows back up. Someone should be able to get to you. You shouldn't have to face him alone ever again."

Sasuke shook his head and allowed the jutsu to die between his hands. Orochimaru made him nervous. He knew all this waiting was a part of the game but this couldn't just be about Orochimaru. "It has to go both ways. I should be able to get to you if you're in danger. Orochimaru aside, you're the one who's most likely to get into dangerous situations."

"There are risks involved with that."

"I'm aware of them. I might die of chakra exhaustion if you're too far but I'm your bodyguard and I should be aware of where you are at all times so that risk is minimized."

"Now you're my bodyguard when it's convenient?"

"We both know it's just an excuse for you to enjoy my company."

"The only thing your company involves is glares, terrible jokes, and more glares."

"I glare when you do something stupid and idiotic. It's not my fault that's the entire day."

"You know, there are people who call me a genius, brilliant even."

"Don't introduce me. I can't imagine how more of an idiot they'd have to be to think such a thing."

"Well then, that makes everyone an idiot and if everyone is an idiot then you're an idiot."

Sasuke smirked. "Naruto, that makes no sense. Even your insults are getting more idiotic."

Naruto gave an exasperated sigh, "You know, after twenty-eight years you'd think we could have a conversation without insulting each other."

"I was stating facts."

"Sasuke!"

"I cannot help myself. You make it too easy to get a rile out of you."

"You do realize that you're the only one _, the only one_."

Sasuke chuckled at Naruto's expense. "Just put the damn seal on me Naruto."

"Teme," Naruto mumbled under his breath as he prepared the materials. While Naruto mulled around the workshop, Sasuke's eyes strayed toward the framed picture on the back shelf. It was one of many, but it was new. Sasuke also had one like it in the forge.

Sakura said that they've needed a new Team Seven picture. It was the snapshot Sakura took when they returned from Suna after their night of drunken adventure. Naruto still had a muffin in his mouth and the nonsensical face-paint smudged around his cheeks. Sakura looked perfect, as always. Sasuke's face was turned off toward the left and he was smiling.

Looking at it, you'd never guess all the history and hard years and pain between them.

"Alright, take your shirt off."

Sasuke smirked when he turned toward Naruto waiting with a jar of ink in his hands. "Are you seducing me Uzumaki?"

Naruto threw up his hands. "Are you capable of even having a serious conversation anymore?!"

"Perhaps I enjoy watching you flail around like an idiot," Sasuke replied. Sasuke pulled off his shirt. "The kids are going to be jealous."

Naruto outright slapped an ink brush straight down Sasuke's face. Sasuke gave a startled gasp, then snatched another bottle of ink off the table and splashed it into Naruto's face.

In seconds, both men were wrestling on the floor of the workshop, hands slipping off each other's skin as they got more and more drenched in black ink. Naruto hit his head against the desk. Sasuke grazed his leg against a nail in the floorboards.

They stared at each other, blinked with ink blotched faces, and then collapsed beside each other in twin laughter. It finally died to a pleasant heat of adrenaline and contentment in their exhaustion.

Naruto did a series of hand seals. The particles in the air coalesced and suddenly a splash of water dropped on them both. It drenched through their clothes and bled the ink into the wood.

"I'm not sure this is better," Sasuke said frankly, dripping wet in the early autumn air.

"Shut up," Naruto said as he pulled himself up, reached over, and shuffled through a box to withdraw a new ink bottle. He had to pop the cork open with his teeth. Naruto dipped his finger in it and casually began to mark the ink on Sasuke's shoulder, the one without the ANBU tattoo.

It was oddly intimate and Sasuke was aware of every piece of skin Naruto lazily touched. Naruto performed this seal so much, Naruto applied an almost lazy application but the curves of the seal were perfect when Sasuke looked at it.

Then it was Naruto's turn.

"What happens when you run out of room on your back?"

"I don't know," Naruto said frankly. There was an empty one down to the left, mid-back, where the Uzumaki who had died used to be. "But usually Ame is here when I do this and I don't have the contortion ability to write on my own back so…" Naruto dipped his finger into the ink and turned to his left shoulder.

"I'll be able to get to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded. Once he finished, he bit his finger into his thumb. "I need your blood."

Sasuke lifted up his leg where the nail has dragged across. Naruto dug his thumb into the wound. Naruto mixed their blood and drew several more designs over the original. Then Naruto applied his chakra and Sasuke watched as the seal settled into what looked essentially to be a tattoo of the Uzumaki Clan emblem - a perfect whirlpool on his shoulder.

"I guess you're really a Uzumaki now."

Sasuke snorted. "Sasuke Uchiha-Uzumaki? Sounds like we're married."

Naruto laughed at how absurd that sounded. "Of course you'd be the hyphenated sort."

"You could take my last name instead."

"But it's the _Uzumaki Clan_."

"It can't be too hard to change everything."

"The paperwork would be ghastly. I'd divorce you just for making me do it. Figures ours would be the shortest marriage in the history of Konoha."

"But the sex would be good."

"Oh, cocky now are we?"

Sasuke gave a devilish smile, "I'd rock your world, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto gave a brutish snort. "Kakashi's porn is not going to help you."

Sasuke gave Naruto a serious look. "But our Sensei bestowed his most prized possession to us so that we may use and learn from its infinite wisdom. His last words probably were," Sasuke said in an impression that matched Kakashi's voice exactly, "Naruto, Sasuke, I gift thee to you for there will come a day when yin and yang will finally meet again and in order to save the world, you two have to get it on."

Naruto fell into a bout of uncontrollable hysterics.

"Anyways, that's what Kakashi would have said. He just didn't get a chance to, because you know, he's always late."

That set off another round. Naruto was laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. "Sasuke, stop, you're _killing_ me."

"Suppose I should before Konoha accuses Sasuke Uchiha for nefariously assassinating the Hokage with his awful humor. Wouldn't want to clue anyone in on my plan to takeover Konoha. First, it's the Hokage. Second, it's the ramen."

Naruto gasped, "Not the ramen!"

"Oh yes, Naruto, the ramen."

"Geez, Sasuke, whatever did ramen do to you?"

Sasuke gave an aghast expression. "Everything! If it wasn't for the ramen and its tantalizing smell that made me pause for five seconds on my way to the Uchiha compound, I could have made it back in time to save my parents from Itachi. Revenge, Naruto, revenge! The ramen has always been conspiring against me."

"No, Sasuke, you can't!"

Sasuke nodded glumly and said dramatically, "I have chosen my path Naruto and there is no turning back. I won't stop until I have vanquished ramen once and for all. I don't care if I have to destroy the whole world to do so."

"That is the worst plan I have heard since hypnotizing the entire world with the moon. I mean, you can't be surprised, the guy was related to you."

"I'll have you know that all my relatives were not murderous psychopaths. My mom was nice."

"No Sasuke, she was hiding deep dark secrets too. You see, when her cat died she vowed revenge against Konoha."

"I always wondered why she started learning poisons after Mr. Flubbles died."

"Wait, seriously?!"

" _I'm kidding_."

"Sasuke! Dead parent jokes need _inflection_. Wait, did you really have a cat named Mr. Flubbles?"

Sasuke was quiet. Naruto sat up with an accusing finger and teasing laugh. "You so had a cat called Mr. Flubbles! I bet you named him. I mean really, is flubbles even a word?"

"It a combination of the words fluffy and bubbles," Sasuke replied academically.

Naruto tossed his head back so hard in laughter it hit the desk. "I'm _dying_ ," Naruto wheezed. "That's worse than the name I gave to my pet rat."

"Pet rat?"

"I thought it wanted to be my friend but it just wanted my food."

"Naruto, that's not funny. That's just sad."

"Yeah, it was." Naruto looked up at Sasuke with wide innocent eyes and almost a tremble of hurt in his voice. "But it's okay because I got used to friends betraying me."

Sasuke paused. He thought they were joking around. What happened? "Naruto, I honestly don't know if we're joking around anymore."

"Now do you see the importance of _inflection_? Bastard."

* * *

**x**

* * *

_**I don't need another bodyguard, but I don't mind a friend.** _

* * *

 


	17. October 10th

October 10th was one of the biggest festivals in Konoha and the holiday attracted thousands of tourists all over Fire Country. It was also the biggest event to occur in Konoha since the Kyuubi leak. ANBU have been preparing for weeks. The entirety of Captain Tiger's division were planned to be on the streets monitoring activity and searching for any malicious intent.

But for all of the fanfare of the day, the Uzumaki Clan celebrated quietly.

It was a tradition every year that the Uzumaki Clan privately rented out Ichiraku Ramen for the Kage's birthday celebrations. But as the festival grew larger over the years, to save ANBU the heart attack of having to monitor both the festival and the Kage's birthday party at the same time, Naruto began celebrating his birthday in the early morning. Naruto rented out Ichiraku's at the crack of dawn, had ramen for breakfast, and that was it.

For the remainder of the day, the Uzumaki clan was locked down in the compound.

"I'm surprised you're not doing anything else for your birthday," Sasuke commented as he tallied the expenses from the breakfast. Financially, Sasuke could understand why but there was certainly room for Naruto to do more if he wanted.

"I've never been big on celebrating my birthday," Naruto said with a shrug.

He had a point there. Sasuke didn't even know the date of Naruto's birthday until he found out Naruto was the jinchuuriki. Not once had Naruto ever mentioned it when they were genin.

"It doesn't seem right," Naruto said after some thought. "Today is supposed to honor all those who died when the Kyuubi rampaged through Konoha. My parents died on this day. The Kyuubi was placed inside me on this day. And quite frankly, this day was some of the worst days of my life. Never seemed like a day I should be celebrating but the kids want to do something for me so I oblige them."

"They never want to go to the festival?"

Naruto frowned deeply. "The kids ask me every year but… it's not possible. If I let one go, I've got to let them all go. With all the people at the festival and the fact it's such a high security risk, I simply can't keep track of them all. Even with shadow clones, I could lose one of them easily. So they have to wait until they've graduated the academy and then they can go if they choose."

A quick rapt came at the door before Ame peaked her head inside. "Hey Dad," Ame skipped inside. Backwards, she planted her hands on the desk and was about to lift herself to sit among the careful piles of paper Sasuke had organized.

"Disrupt my paperwork and I will not participate in ramen night next month," Sasuke snapped without looking up from his calculations.

Ame very carefully and slowly set her butt down on an empty spot of the desk. Ame leaned over toward Naruto, careful where she placed her hand to make sure she didn't touch any of the documents and placed her cheek against her shoulder. There was a gleam of mischief in her eye. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

Naruto lounged back with amusement. "Just the usual date night with Hinata. What do you want Ame?"

"I want to go to the festival tonight with Mizuka."

Naruto frowned. "You can go but you know I'm going to have to assign an ANBU to you."

"About that," Ame said, none too surprised that was her father's only stipulation. She was well aware she could become a target for people who wanted to get to her Dad. Ame turned to Sasuke and outright asked, "Can Uncle chaperon my date?"

Naruto raised a surprised eyebrow. Sasuke simply sent the girl an annoyed glare. Naruto turned to Sasuke and shrugged, "Your call."

The last thing Sasuke wanted to do was chaperon some date.

Naruto saw Sasuke leaning towards a no and intervened, "It's alright Ame. I'll cancel with Hinata. I can do date night with her tomorrow. I'll go with you."

Naruto didn't want to disappoint his daughter. He was well aware that his daughter needed a break from the constant mission grind.

"But you don't like the festival. And if the Hokage went, doesn't that call for a whole squadron of ANBU? I thought you trusted him. I figured it'd be okay."

"Hey, no one has to know. I'll take a henge and-"

"But Dad it would be _embarrassing_. And I know you're going to find some way to embarrass me. You can't help it."

Naruto replied hotly. "I'll _try_ not to."

Even Sasuke knew that Naruto could try all he wanted but if Naruto saw a pranking opportunity open, the man couldn't help but to take it. Especially if it concerned his eldest daughter. Sasuke could already see this ending in disaster.

"Oh! How about both of you chaperon me? That way Uncle will have company and he can keep you out of trouble."

Keeping Naruto out of trouble was a tall order. "No promises."

Naruto bit at his lip in thought. "Yeah, why not?"

"Thank you so much, daddy!" Ame said as she smacked a big kiss on Naruto's forehead and then jumped out the office to get ready for her date.

Sasuke casually asked, "When is the last time you've been to the festival?"

"Since that time Sakura forced us both to go as genin."

"You were only there for ten minutes." Sasuke vividly remembered because he had been angry at Naruto the next day for leaving him alone with Sakura who tried to say it was a date.

"Sakura told me to buy the ice cream while you two were waiting in line to pick out masks."

"You never brought back the ice cream."

"All of the vendors refused to sell me any." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. It was hardly a lingering hurt but at the time, to a twelve-year-old boy, he was devastated. He had gone to the festival in the first place because of his crush on Sakura and he couldn't even buy her ice cream. "I didn't want to ruin the festival for you guys. So I went home."

And got jumped by a group of drunk chuunin on the way but that was neither here nor there.

"You don't have to come Sasuke. I know things won't be like that anymore." Only someone who knew Naruto well could pinpoint that small dose of doubt in his voice, lodged there permanently after several bad experiences.

"I burned all of the yukata Chiro bought for me. Do you have one I could wear?"

"It might be orange."

"I'll ask Tomu."

* * *

Sasuke never had anything personal against the color orange. It just wasn't a practical color. It had no use whatsoever. But when Sasuke was stopped in his tracks at the front gate, he decided his opinion on the color might be changing. Sasuke's gaze followed Naruto's form in the orange yukata. It wasn't the loud cartoonish orange that plastered the cover of Icha Icha, but an autumn orange of gold and red burnt hues. It was elegant and cut across Naruto skin like a sunrise.

Orange was still an impractical color but nothing about Naruto had ever been practical. Sasuke could learn to get used to it.

Naruto's shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a messily crafted bun and was pinned by two hair pins that looks as if Naruto had confiscated them from one of his daughter's hairboxes. Dangling on the end of the hairpins were plastic cut-outs of the naruto swirls found in ramen.

"I thought we were supposed to be undercover?" Sasuke forced himself to say after his overt moment of staring.

Naruto pointed to his face. Sasuke couldn't believe that he was now noticing the absence of Naruto's whisker-like scars. The sight was a little unsettling. Even the burn that Naruto typically hid behind a fringe of hair was gone. Naruto grinned cheekily. "Believe me, without these, people don't look twice."

Sasuke's eye twitched. Without the whiskers, Naruto looked rather maniacal.

Naruto's smile dropped. He raised a defensive eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"You look terrible," Sasuke blurted.

"Wow, thanks." Naruto responded flatly. "Not all of us can look as disgustingly perfect as you."

Before Sasuke could respond and explain that is not what he meant, Ame skipped toward them. She hadn't even bothered with something traditional. She wore a short leather blazer over an orange tee that read, ' _My Dad is Cooler than You_.' It was accessorized with black boots and a very _very_ short skirt.

Naruto didn't even react. Sasuke glanced over at Naruto wondering if he was going to say something or not. Sasuke finally said as they began walking from the gates, "Her skirt is short."

Naruto laughed at Sasuke's expense. "By Konoha law, she's an adult. I trust her to make good decisions." Then Naruto gave a smirk. "Why? Would Sasuke Uchiha kill every boy that dares to step within ten feet of his daughter?"

"Yes."

"There goes the village." Naruto shook his head and said awfully earnest, "I'm glad you don't have any kids."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in agreement.

Sasuke couldn't handle it. To be frank, he'd probably just leave it on Naruto's doorstep and run far the fuck away. He could barely handle Tomu who was a full grown adult. Not to mention, any child of his would live a terrible life. The entire world would judge him or her on the sins of the father.

Naruto and Sasuke walked at quite a distance behind Ame. He tracked her with sage mode as she met Mizuka on the bridge marking the boundaries of the Houzuki Clan.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "I didn't mean that earlier." Sasuke waved a helpless hand at his face. "It's weird."

Naruto's eyes went hard. "You mean it's weird not to have the _scars_ on my face? The scars that are apparently genetic and yet no other jinchuuriki has apparently had. Yeah, that's _weird_ , Sasuke."

"Why are you getting all pissy at me?" Sasuke asked offended, irked, and annoyed. This was the weird edge in their relationship Sasuke could not work out. One moment, they're relaxed and hanging out, the next, one or both are angry and bitter. Then, Sasuke's eyebrows creased when he actually processed Naruto's words. "Wait, no other jinchuuriki has facial scars like you do?" Killer Bee didn't have them. Gaara didn't have them. From what he's seen of the history books, Mito Senju didn't have them. Kushina Uzumaki didn't have them either. "Then how is it genetic? Boruto has them?"

Naruto's dark frown answered the question.

"But Boruto isn't a jinchuuriki. Are the scars not related to the Kyuubi? I thought you were born like that?"

"I don't know Sasuke. I don't know why Boruto has them. I mean, I got Hinata pregnant before I completely sealed the Kyuubi's chakra from mine so that might… I don't know what that means and I don't know what that might mean for Himawari. _I don't know_. But I do know I'm terrified of going to that festival with these scars on my face."

Sasuke looked back at Naruto who had stopped and was studying a tree. "It's all they saw," Naruto whispered. "When we were kids, all they saw were the scars. And sometimes it scares me that one day they'll look at my kids the same way."

Sasuke dragged Naruto in by the hem of his yukata and forced Naruto to looked at him. When he ran his thumb across Naruto's cheek, because it was a henge, he could feel the ridge of the scars even if he couldn't see them.

"We are going to go to this damn festival and everything is going to be fine."

Naruto closed his eye and Sasuke stomach twisted with ninja wire to watch Naruto's exhale through his lips and breeze warmth against his hand. Sasuke snapped his hand away. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm freaking out. Sorry, this day… kind of sucks for me."

"It's your birthday."

"It's the day my parents died. It's the day I was orphaned. Congratu-fucking-lations to me." Naruto shoulder-checked Sasuke as he started forward to catch up with Ame and Mizuke far in the distance.

And yeah, Sasuke got it. He understood. It's not like he wanted to throw a party on the anniversary of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

As they walked down the road, Sasuke gave Naruto his space to work out his issues on his own. Because, as Sasuke continually needed to remind himself, he wasn't always the problem.

They were both messed up, really. Naruto was just better at covering it up and falling to pieces in private.

* * *

Sasuke could smell the food from the vendors long before he saw the brightly colored awnings. Large crowds of people flooded through the marked entrance of the festival like a deluge of water intent on crowding every piece of ground in its path. Ame and Mizuka waited for them underneath a string of orange lanterns.

When Sasuke and Naruto approached, Ame's eyes lit up and then her lips widened into that frightful mischievous grin. Sasuke literally braced himself for whatever insanity was about to come.

"Have fun on your date!" Ame exclaimed, then she and Mizuka disappeared.

Naruto and Sasuke stared at the empty space dumbfounded, until someone pushed against Sasuke's back and he realized they were disrupting the flow of traffic entering the festival.

"I believe I need to sit down and have a talk with her," Naruto said slowly. Naruto took a step back but Sasuke's eyes caught sight of something in the crowd. He determinedly grabbed Naruto by the arm and dragged him forward. Naruto sputtered, surprised to find himself off balance and stumbled afterwards.

"Two ice-cream cones," Sasuke ordered when he reached the vendor.

Naruto adjusted his yukata and gave a slight betrayed frown at the ice cream cone shoved under his nose.

"This isn't a date," Naruto said softly.

"I know."

Naruto reluctantly took the ice-cream cone. Sasuke said quietly as he took a lick of his own. "I loved festivals. When I was younger Itachi used to take me all the time. As he got sucked further into ANBU, he stopped taking me as frequently. I'd go with Mom or a group of my cousins if Itachi couldn't. But the festivals with Itachi were the best. He'd win everything and he'd buy me anything I wanted. After the massacre, I stopped going. That night with Sakura, I only lasted ten more minutes than you did. These things are hard for me too."

"It's amazing how we tell each other this stuff now."

"We were stupid," Sasuke said before crunching the rest of the cone in his mouth. Sasuke stepped forward and looked back at Naruto expectantly. Naruto sighed, pushed off from the stand and followed Sasuke into the crowd.

"This festival isn't how I remember it to be," Sasuke noted.

"No shit," Naruto said as he stared around perplexed. Kids rushed by with plastic masks that were the chibi version of the Kyuubi, or Gyuuki, or any of the other nine-tailed creatures. Some adults had face-paint or simply three whisker-like lines on each cheek. "I'm so confused."

Sasuke swept his head around to glare at a kid who suddenly shoved into his leg. The kid's eyes widened and ran away crying, dropping a full plate of jinchuuriki cookies behind him. Naruto stared rather affronted at the adorable eyes of the Kyuubi cookie that landed on Sasuke's foot. It was ridiculous and completely misleading.

They stopped where a crowd of families were sitting on the grass watching a stage play. Naruto's jaw dropped at the costumed mimics of the Kyuubi and Susanoo locked together in playful combat.

"Is this supposed to be the Fourth Shinobi War?" Sasuke scrunched his nose when the actors shed their outer clothing to reveal a blonde and black-haired ninja. Crowds cheered at the effects and sounds that the chidori and the rasengan made.

"That's not how it happened," Sasuke retorted when 'Naruto' killed 'Sasuke'. Naruto added an enthusiastic clap to the audience's applause.

"That was hilarious," Naruto said disbelievingly as 'Sasuke' dramatically died on stage. Sasuke sent Naruto a glare, which further deepened Naruto's laughter.

"No one dies like that," Sasuke criticized. Why was his actor writhing?

Naruto patted a hand on Sasuke's shoulder patronizingly. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll die all graceful and cool and perfect."

Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand off his shoulder but followed behind Naruto with a soft smile. The performance seemed to have brought a flush of excitement to Naruto's face. With a tug on Sasuke's sleeve, Naruto eagerly pushed through the crowd toward the stand with the masks.

Naruto stringed the Kyuubi mask against the side of Sasuke's head with a snicker. Sasuke gave a disgruntled expression in turn but didn't bother taking it off.

"I can't decide between the Gyuuki or Ichibi," Naruto said as he tapped the plastic in indecision.

The vendor suddenly said, "Has anyone told you that you look like the Hokage?"

Naruto laughed. "I get that a lot."

"If you ever need any change you could probably act in one of the performances. They make pretty good money."

It really boggled Sasuke's mind how no one made the connection it was actually Naruto.

"Hey," Naruto said curiously after he finally chose the Sanbi since it wasn't selling as well as the others. "I haven't been back to Konoha in a while but this festival has kind of changed?"

"Yeah, it was supposed to honor those who died during Kyuubi Rampage but kids these days barely remember that. It's depressing for them. But they all love the Hokage and profits have been insane since I've started selling jinchuuriki merchandise. The kids think it's cool."

"But isn't that hypocritical? Changing the festival to honor the very thing that killed all those Konoha citizens?"

The vendor shrugged his shoulders unconcerned. "Things change. All of the people here are here to see the Kyuubi and the other jinchuuriki. They come to experience what has now become merely folktale and legend. Kids these days didn't live in the age of the Bijuu where every hidden village basically had a bomb at their disposal. The Fourth Shinobi War is probably the last time anyone will ever see a bijuu ever again."

"The Hokage could still lose control."

The vendor laughed at the absurdity of it. "If you're going to stand there talking about my Kage, I going to have to charge you double for the merchandise."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. Sasuke could see Naruto still wanted to argue. He placed a firm hand on Naruto's arm and gently pulled away. Naruto shook his head again in disbelief, as if maybe if he kept shaking it would knock some sense loose. "I don't know if I'm _okay_ with this. This is worse. If Kurama could see this now he'd probably laugh and then kill us all."

"Things change."

"I know but this is my life Sasuke. The Kyuubi isn't a folktale. It's real and it's inside me. It took me a long time to make this seal and get any type of peace. Kurama was getting worse. The more he realized that he was never going to manipulate me to get out, the more bitter he became. And in the end, I don't blame him. Who would want to be an all-powerful creature stuck inside of me? But I couldn't take it anymore. I hurt Ame. It's not something to be glorified or cool for the kids. _It's my life_."

Sasuke stuck a stick of takoyaki between Naruto's ranting lips. Sasuke nodded and said, "You carry a burden that none of us can begin to imagine. I look at this festival and see something else. I see it as an honor to those individuals, who sometimes died, to carry these beasts of power. All I see is your courage, Naruto."

Naruto's shoulder hunched at the praise. He nibbled on his takoyaki in silence, brooding over both the vendor's and Sasuke's words. "I just wish they could have waited until I was dead or something. This is still weird."

Sasuke huffed at the comment and continued walking down the streets. There were specialty food items: rice cakes shaped like the Kyuubi, ice cream with orange flakes on the top, and noodles with nothing but naruto toppings served in them.

Sasuke tugged at Naruto's sleeve and pointed out the festival game they were about to pass. From the looks of it, they blind-folded the participant and they had to hit all nine-tails of a cardboard Kyuubi to win a prize. Sasuke shoved Naruto towards it and demanded, "win me something."

"Geez, Sasuke, you are the pushiest date ever," Naruto complained as he stepped up reluctantly to the game stall.

"I thought this wasn't a date." Sasuke smirked.

"I'm just saying, if it was, you'd be the worst date." Naruto stuck a tongue out at him, as if he wasn't a grown man and the Hokage on top of that. Sasuke was hoping a few games would get Naruto comfortable enough to enjoy the evening, no matter how strange and surreal Sasuke admitted that it was. He couldn't have Naruto brooding all night, that was Sasuke's thing, and seriously, he needed alcohol to deal with Naruto's emotions.

Naruto tied the blindfold around his head, picked up the seven kunai, and with an easy flick of the wrist hit the nine targets on each tail dead center. Naruto picked out the largest and most obnoxious prize.

Sasuke's eye twitched and gave Naruto a flat stare as Naruto draped the large Gyuuki plushie over his head and then arranged the tentacle arms and attached them together with the velcro on the ends around Sasuke's arms and chest. Naruto's head flung backwards in laughter at the sight.

Sasuke shoved Naruto, snatched the blindfold, hit all targets and chose a headband with fuzzy orange fox ears. Smug, Sasuke shoved the headband down on Naruto's head. It looked ridiculous but Naruto snorted with amused laughter. "Touché."

Sasuke pushed Naruto to the next game.

Naruto groaned after he tore his fifth net. He glanced over at Sasuke who scooped another goldfish effortless into a plastic bag. "I don't get why this is so hard!" Naruto moaned. Even during the summer festivals, he sucked at this games. The chubby hands of the kids were doing better than he was.

"You can have one of mine." Sasuke smirked. He scooped his sixth goldfish into a plastic bag and without looking, handed it to one of the kids who were struggling. Sasuke certainly didn't need any goldfish and had a line of kids he was suddenly giving them away to.

"Teme," Naruto snapped as he shoved his hand into Sasuke's arm and interrupted the smug Uchiha from catching another fish.

A woman behind them gasped. "Excuse me! No cursing around the children."

Sasuke shoved Naruto back. Naruto stabbed the handle of his net through Sasuke's. A crowd of people gasped as both Naruto and Sasuke toppled over. The entire tub of goldfish spilled across the ground. There were tears, screaming parents, and dying fish flopping around the feet of traumatized children.

The commotion caught the attention of the ANBU.

Naruto snatched Sasuke's arm and went running off into the crowd. They weaved through bodies and stalls. Naruto glanced back with bubbling laughter and kept running until they slipped away from the ANBU and collapsed against a cardboard wall.

"Did we just-" Sasuke couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Kami, Sasuke, we're horrible!" Naruto slapped his face. He was still wet from the small pool but the image of those poor children and outraged parents and the absurdity of the Hokage toppled over into the kiddie pool had him rolling in the grass.

"What are you two doing? You're late!"

Naruto turned sharply when someone grabbed him and Sasuke by the shoulders. They were suddenly hauled up, dragged around the flimsy wall, and shoved onto the stage. Naruto and Sasuke stumbled forward almost into the crowd of hundreds watching them expectantly.

Naruto whipped his head around in panic. The man who had dragged them upstairs pointed desperately to the script in his hand. It was titled, 'The Valley of the End.'

Pure terrible mischief cut wide across Naruto's face. He stood, fixed his shoulders and pointed to Sasuke. "SASUKE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE VILLAGE. I KNOW YOU WANT VENGEANCE AGAINST YOUR BROTHER BUT LOVE IS STRONGER THAN ANGER. SAKURA IS PREGNANT WITH YOUR CHILD!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto in horror. There were surprised gasps throughout the crowd as if vilifying him and sympathizing with Sakura's non-existent child. What was wrong with these people? Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. Two could play this game.

"IS IT EVEN MINE NARUTO? I CAUGHT YOU TWO TOGETHER BEHIND THE BATHHOUSE. THERE IS NO ONE KEEPING ME HERE ANYMORE. I'M LEAVING THE VILLAGE."

"IT ISN'T WHAT YOU THINK!"

"MY BROTHER HAS BETRAYED ME AND NOW MY TEAM HAS BETRAYED ME."

"BUT WHAT ABOUT INO? INO IS PREGNANT WITH YOUR CHILD!"

"WHAT?!"

At this point, the audience finally figured out this wasn't a serious performance and starting laughing with every one of Naruto's exaggerated expressions.

"HINATA IS PREGNANT WITH YOUR CHILD! DON'T YOU LOVE THEM? ARE YOU SO MUCH OF A HEARTLESS BASTARD TO THROW ALL OF YOUR HAREM AWAY!"

This has decisively run away from Sasuke.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated expression. He needed to get to the fight so he could Naruto in the face. "IF YOU WANT ME TO STAY IN THE VILLAGE, THEN YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME!"

Sasuke took up a fighting stance and was relieved when Naruto did he same. Of course Naruto could never just lose to Sasuke so it turned into a real fucking spar in the middle of the stage.

Naruto grabbed a hold of the belt of Sasuke yukata.

"Don't you dare," Sasuke seethed under his breath. But it was too late. Naruto snatched the belt. The cloth of Sasuke's yukata, already hanging awkwardly off his shoulder from the fight fell. Sasuke immediately had to gather the cloth against his waist but the rest was futile. He was suddenly standing in the middle of the stage in practically a state of undress.

There were cat-calls and wolf whistles from the crowd. "Have my baby!" someone yelled.

Sasuke glared at Naruto as they circled the stage and Sasuke snatched up his belt. He tied it messily around his waist. Then he activated the raikiri. The glow of it reflected off awed faces. There was a wave of cheers when Naruto activated the rasengan.

They met in the middle.

"SASUKE," Naruto moaned dramatically on the ground. He tightened his hand on Sasuke's ankle and pressed his other hand against his stomach. "PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE. DON'T ABANDON ME! I'M PREGNANT TOO!"

The entire crowd was cackled with laughter.

"I LOVE YOU," Naruto moaned as his hand slipped from Sasuke's leg.

"I do too," Sasuke whispered softly, and then walked from the stage.

The crowd surged on their feet with claps and cheers. Sasuke was pushed back on stage by the script writer. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand with a radiant smile and they took a bow.

* * *

"Aw man, Sasuke, you should have seen your face when I said Sakura was pregnant," Naruto's laughter had turned into hiccups now – every time you thought it was gone, another fit jolted through him.

"Probably the same look I'd have on my face if Sakura ever told me she was pregnant with my kid," Sasuke answered with sarcasm. It was perhaps one of the most frightening things he could ever imagine.

Naruto wiped the giddy tears from his eyes. "Yeah, when you're not thinking too hard about it or taking it too seriously, the festival can be kind of fun."

Then Naruto stopped. "She's so dead."

Sasuke turned to see what caught Naruto's attention. Several stalls down, sitting on a bench, was Ame making out heavily with her girlfriend.

Naruto started in her direction until people suddenly began moving and shoving each other aside. Drums began playing and the parade came down the street. A large Kyuubi float passed by first, followed by the other jinchuuriki. There were dancers and local singers and volunteer ninja breathing fire into the sky.

"Okay yeah, this is cool too," Naruto admitted.

A civilian movie star all the way from the capital greeted the crowd from the top of the float. In a high-pitched voice, the starlet announced, "Everyone, let's sing the [Bijuu Counting Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3pwMQA33r8)! Ready! Let's Begin!"

Naruto's eyes widened like saucers when drummers began to beat on the taiko drums and the music began to play. "That's where this song comes from? The kids sing it while they're jump-roping. I just figured someone at their school made it up."

Sasuke watched as the entire crowd, especially the children jumped up and down in excitement, clapping and singing along to the song. In the corner of Sasuke's eye, he could see Naruto mouthing the words.

After the first refrain counted the bijuu, then it counted the jinchuuriki.

 _Koko notzu Konoha-no-_ The entirety of the crowd shouted, "UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

The singer repeated this verse several times and each time the crowd got louder and louder with the name, "UZUMAKI NARUTO!" as if trying to shout it loud enough to reach the Uzumaki compound. It was a thunderous declaration of admiration, respect, and love.

"That's it folks, end of the counting song. See you again next year!"

Sasuke watched the way Naruto blinked quickly, as if blinking back tears. His expression was full, overwhelmed as a hundred different emotions ran across his face. Sasuke could see Naruto was floundering. He reached and gave a simple squeeze of the shoulder just to say, 'I'm here.'

"Maybe next year you'll be on the float singing."

The comment startled Naruto out of his melancholy and into laughter. "Konoha would probably lose its shit."

"Most likely but wouldn't that be a prank for the ages?"

Naruto's laughter held a mad mischief and Sasuke had no doubt it was going to happen next year. He couldn't wait to see it. Then he blinked, and realized he was fully expecting to be in Konoha next year, and the year after that, and the year until Naruto's laughter no longer existed. It was such a startling realization that completely blindsided him.

Naruto swung his arm around Sasuke, in bright spirits, humming along the tune as they walked down the streets. They stopped at several more stalls where Naruto bought plushies of every single bijuu for the kids. Thankfully he had brought a storage scroll to put them all in.

Suddenly an ANBU dropped down, Hawk, and both Sasuke and Naruto were shoved into an alley.

"REALLY?" ANBU Hawk yelled at them both. "We've spent weeks planning this operation. We didn't plan for the Hokage to be wandering around out in the open."

"We're chaperoning Ame on her date."

"If you can't tell, I'm glaring at you," Hawk said behind his mask.

"It's fine. No one can even tell who I am. Besides, the festival is almost over. The fireworks are next."

Hawk gave an aggrieved sigh. Then he looked at Sasuke. "How did you even convince him to even come to the festival?"

"Ame is an evil genius," Sasuke complimented. Sasuke was beginning to think that Ame's objective was more than just a date.

"Get back to work. We're probably going to go to the Kage Mountain to watch the fireworks."

"Yeah, alright but I'd get going. The fireworks are starting soon." Hawk advised, before disappearing atop a rooftop.

"Let's get more food first," Naruto said eagerly as he stepped back into the orange light of the lanterns and ordered a serving of yakisoba before they teleported halfway across of Konoha. Naruto settled on the head of his father, conveniently in the middle of the heads, and began stuffing his face.

"I've been thinking a bit about what you told me. Beyond the prank, I think that maybe I should have more of a role in this festival. It began honoring those who the Kyuubi have killed on this day twenty-eight years ago. But no one remembers the jinchuuriki who have died - the people like my mother, Mito Senju, and all those who have carried the burden of being jinchuuriki. They are often forgotten, especially those who were seen as monsters. _If_ this festival is about honoring the jinchuuriki it should be about honoring them all."

"I can't wait to see it," Sasuke said.

Naruto heard the words Sasuke didn't say - 'I'll be here.'

Naruto grinned as he watched Sasuke drag the gigantic Gyuuki plushie off his head and set it up against the stone head to use as a pillow. Naruto took off his ears and began to store their spoils into a storage scroll. Sasuke leaned against the plushie and casually said, "This was a good not-date."

Naruto snorted, then dragged the Gyuuki plushie from underneath Sasuke and threw him off balance. Naruto plopped back against it. There was plenty room to share. Sasuke kicked him in turn but they soon settled back against the long pillow. Apparently several other people had the same idea because the park that stretched behind the heads of the Kage began to slowly fill with couples and families.

Naruto said, "Both Hinata and Sakura knew how I felt about the festival and never bothered to pressure me to come. But I'm glad I did. I needed to see it."

Nine fireworks exploded into the sky and burst into an explosion of red.

Sasuke suddenly remembered the last time he watched fireworks. The experiences didn't compare. With Iraiya he was lost. But with Naruto he was found. If Sasuke Uchiha came through the other end of all his bad decisions with just a little of bit of Naruto in his life, he'll take it.

Eight fireworks.

Sasuke turned and watched Naruto's face dance with colors. The fireworks reflected like stars exploding in his eyes.

Seven fireworks.

Sasuke breathed and closed his eyes to remember when Itachi would bring him to this same place to watch the fireworks, because obviously, it had the best view in all of Konoha. For whatever reason, Itachi preferred the head of the Shodaime.

Six fireworks.

Naruto had closed his eyes and peace blanketed him. There was a subtle stain of orange around his eyes. Sasuke wondered how a Sage felt fireworks. Was it a dance of color and power? A burst of sudden energy?

Five fireworks.

Sasuke was staying.

Four fireworks.

Sasuke was staying in Konoha.

Three fireworks.

Sasuke was staying Konoha with Naruto.

Two fireworks.

Sasuke was staying in Konoha with Naruto and Sakura and Tomu and he didn't want to _leave_.

The center of Konoha erupted in fire.

Both Sasuke and Naruto snapped up in attention. Sasuke wondered if one of the fireworks discharged incorrectly, and then a similar explosion went off at the center of the festival.

"Ame," Naruto whispered in concerned and immediately used the hiraishined body seal. Sasuke was extremely grateful that Naruto had the foresight to place the same seal on him. Immediately, Sasuke concentrated his chakra to the Uzumaki swirl on his shoulder. Sasuke's stomach flipped. In the next breath, he was inhaling smoke.

Without hesitation, Sasuke began the seals of a jutsu. He took control of the surrounding flames and extinguished these petty flames with as much ease and finality as Amaterasu.

"Dad! Someone tried to hit me with a firework," Ame gasped from where Naruto was helping to pull her and Mizuka out from under the debris of a fallen vendor stand. Sasuke could follow the trail of the firework. It missed Ame by a longshot and shot through the festival with a trail of wreckage following behind it.

Naruto pulled Ame onto her feet and then crouched down to check on Mizuka. "Are you alright?"

The Houzuki seemed pale and her skin dry and flaky. "Better. The fire, it was drying…"

Sasuke saw him coming – a man out of the shadows with bulking armor lifted a long brown stick and aimed it at Naruto.

Sasuke had no idea what it was or what it did but he only had seconds to make a decision. There was no time for hand seals or even an inhalation of breath for a fire jutsu. Sasuke whipped around and shoved Naruto hard out the way.

A loud concentrated sound had his ears ringing with the smell of sulfur and charcoal.

" _ **SASUKE**_!"

* * *

There was a hole in Sasuke's chest. There was a _fucking_ hole in Sasuke's chest. Sasuke's brown eyes stare blankly, as empty as the time before they were implanted in Sasuke's head. The yukata that had gotten wet from the goldfish pool was now quickly absorbing blood, spreading quickly through the cloth like the fall of autumn leaves.

It smelled like blood.

Like the blood that spread across marble floor after he beheaded Chouji, or the blood of his wife after she flung herself out of a window, or the blood as he stabbed a kunai in the Raikage's neck, or the blood of a hundred of little children that died in his arms.

It smelled like blood.

* * *

Ame choked on the smoke. When she finally managed to drag herself to her knees, she looked up to find her father staring at the sight of Sasuke's motionless corpse.

She felt it first – the full brunt of her father's killing intent physically congesting the air and bringing everything around it to its knees. The man who had come out of the shadows cried out as he was slammed into the ground by the weight of it. But what frightened her the most was the small hint of something more sinister – something malevolent and dark and ancient and utterly pissed off.

Ame unconsciously placed a hand on the scar of her arm. She's only felt a chakra like this once before.

"Shit," Mizuka whispered in a squeak of a mouse. She was trembling so much her body was having a hard time staying solid, instead wanting to melt away in the face of this awful killing intent. It forced tears from her eyes.

Naruto turn to the man pinned down by his killing intent. There was a wild hunger in Naruto's expression and his eyes – his eyes were the color of freshly spilled blood.

The Houzuki chuunin pissed herself. The smell was sharp and acrid, the warmth washing over her barely formed legs, shaking in absolute terror.

Then Naruto's face scrunched in pain and the red irises flickered back blue. Naruto screamed as he held his stomach, collapsed, and fell over to the ground.

Ame was quick to react. She made two shadow clones. The first sprinted off the ground to subdue the attacker. The armor was gangly but it was already on the ground. Only when she broke his arm did she realize he was just a civilian. She bit into her finger, and with her blood, drew a seal over his neck that would keep him paralyzed.

And the second clone ripped the belt off of her Father's kimono. She shoved away the layers until she finally froze at the sight of the Kyuubi's seal burning bright red against her Dad's stomach.

Something was going on with the seal.

Hawk landed in the clearing.

"What the fuck happened?" Hawk stuttered. He had been chasing several other pyromaniacs across the festival grounds but as he took in the scene he suddenly realized that it had all been a distraction from this. From the firework aimed at Ame's head to the disaster of the scene, it all only took but a few minutes. A few minutes too many.

Hawk immediately reported, "Kage down. Prepare two emergency rooms immediately, both S-class intent."

"There's no point. No one in the hospital can help him." Ame said. "It's his seal."

"We have to get them both to the hospital," Hawk snapped as he gingerly scooped his cousin into his arms.

Ame looked at Hawk incredulously. "Tomu, there's a fucking hole in his chest. He's dead. _He's dead_."

Behind her head, Ame suddenly heard the click and shutter of a camera. It was only then did she realize people had been slowly picking themselves up from wreckage. And like some tourist looking for a fucking souvenir, took a picture of the Hokage while he was lying undressed in the street as if this was a damn performance.

Ame turned with a righteous fury, her Yuuhi eyes alight with the red her father had lost, and in seconds weaved a complicated genjutsu on the woman and the area. The woman destroyed her own camera. Anyone else passing by would see nothing but rubble.

"I'll get him to Sakura," Hawk said determinedly. "He'll be fine. He'll be fine."

Hawk disappeared and Ame hit her fists against the ground with frustration and terror. She looked down at her father and stared at him sullenly. The seal had only knocked him unconscious. He was going to have to wake up eventually.

Someone was going to have to tell him that Sasuke was dead. Someone was going to have to break his heart.

* * *

There was a fire in the darkness. Sasuke squinted at it and walked languidly forward. As he got closer, there was a figure hunched over, patiently feeding the flame.

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked with a jolt.

Itachi lifted his head and greeted him with a smile. "Sasuke."

"What are you doing? How did you get here?"

Itachi made that expression Sasuke knew well, the one Itachi gave while trying to figure out how to say something difficult. "Sasuke, you're dead."

"What?" Sasuke took a concerning step back.

Itachi reached out his head. "I'm here to take you home."

"Wait, but… what about Naruto? I can't leave Naruto and Sakura to face Orochimaru on their own. And someone has to protect Tomu. Do you know Tomu? I think you would have liked him. And who's going to help the clan with their homework? And balance the checkbooks? And keep the Hokage safe. I can't go yet."

Itachi's smile was soft and patient. "You are dead and I am here to take you home."

"No, nii-san," Sasuke spat and backed away from his elder brother. He turned on his heels and ran aimlessly through the darkness. 'I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.'

And Itachi waited patiently by the fire, and will wait however long it took for Sasuke to make peace with his death.

* * *

 _It wasn't fucking fair._ Why did the world give him a relative if it was only going to rip him away so soon? Did it enjoy torturing and being cruel to him?

Tomu had his head buried in his arms in the hallway of the hospital. He hated this fucking place. Sobs wracked out of his chest, and then a yawn.

Tomu lifted his head and squinted at the sudden smoke dispersing through the hallway. Tomu tried to pick himself up, but fell over his feet, and felt his entire body go heavy. From the floor, he watched white heels draw nearer. He fell asleep.

The nurse passed Tomu without a look behind her and entered the emergency room. The machines were dead. The nurse stepped over the body of Sakura Haruno and took a step toward the patient. Dead on arrival.

"Sasuke," The nurse tsked. "I'm not done with you yet."

The nurse brought up her arm and bit two fangs into the pale skin. Then she shoved the blood into the patient's mouth.

The scarred and disfigured half of Sasuke's face began to heal and reform back into those fierce Uchiha cheekbones. The missing pinky finger that had long ago been chopped off began to grow back until the missing limb was whole again. And the hole in Sasuke's chest began to stich back with muscle and skin and life.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

Sasuke felt heavy as if all of gravity had grief with him. He stared numb at the blond-haired nurse hovering over him, bleeding an arm into his mouth. The taste of chakra was familiar. He tried to figure out what was wrong but his thoughts were fighting through molasses. Until it snapped together all at once in a vice of anger.

"Orochimaru," Sasuke spat as Orochimaru's blood dribbled down his chin.

Orochimaru smiled at the immediate recognition. The snake pulled away his arm and then gently began to examine the flawless results of his experiment. "This is only the tip of what we can do together, Sasuke," Orochimaru cooed, dragging a thumb across Sasuke's nipple.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and focused on the movement of his limbs. He had to fight back but he was weak and could barely twitch a finger. The more and more he realized he was absolutely helpless before Orochimaru, the more and more he began to panic.

Orochimaru leaned down to Sasuke's ear and his whispered words wrapped around Sasuke's ear like an errant tongue, "Come with me, Sasuke-kun. You'll never be defeated by death again."

Vomit itched at the back of Sasuke's throat. He'd rather be dead. Orochimaru's hand continued its exploration, passing by skin that used to be riddled with scars. The scars he received in his fight with Itachi were gone. The scars he received in his fight with Naruto were gone. Orochimaru had taken all the marks made by other people.

"Why do you continue to fight me Sasuke-kun? You've always been so stubborn but you were mine the moment by fangs sunk into your neck during the genin exams." Orochimaru's fingers ghosted toward Sasuke's shoulder and frowned at the Uzumaki whirl imprinted there. "You'll never belong to him. You'll never belong to this place. You'll never belong to death either. I claimed you for mine a long time ago. I see you need a reminder."

Orochimaru's hand clasped the back of Sasuke's neck. Orochimaru drifted forward, as if to land a tender kiss, until fangs protruded from his mouth. There was a little strength in Sasuke to thrash, to struggle, but as the fangs locked into the skin of his neck, the grip was unyielding. Sasuke was helpless. There was nothing he could do.

All at once, the strength to fight swept out of him. His body went limp in surrender as silent tears slid down his face. Sasuke had been stupid. How could he have ever thought he could escape Orochimaru? He had given himself over for vengeance and power. At the time he hadn't realize how steep the price was, but now he knew.

Sasuke Uchiha had sold his life for power.

"Orochimaru-sama," Sasuke whispered.

Orochimaru smiled.

" _Get the fuck away from him_."

The air stilled, then it visibly moved in waves around the punch Sakura Haruno sent into Orochimaru's face. Sound sucked into a vacuum for one fixed moment before Orochimaru exploded backwards with the heat and force of a comet through the hospital building, through apartments, through Konoha's wall, and further beyond.

Sakura breathed in a sharp breath. She'll deal with the hole later. She turned to Sasuke and flinched back at the sight of Sasuke seemingly terrified but alive and breathing. She didn't know what happened. First she had been crying over his corpse and then she was asleep. She was sullen that she was too late to prevent the black tomoe seal that had formed around Orochimaru's bite and into the sweating skin of Sasuke's neck.

"I'm never going to escape him," Sasuke whispered - hoarse, fractured, and dead.

Sakura fiercely yanked Sasuke up from the bed and shoved him in her arms. "No, Sasuke. We are going to kill him. We are going to keep him from hurting you ever again. Got that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke numbly into her shoulder.

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes he immediately knew shit had hit the fan. It was like a sense you come to develop as a Kage. He looked around and found himself in a medical room, the one with no windows, which meant he was deep in the S-class wing of the hospital.

Then the sudden image of Sasuke lying dead on the ground hit him and took the air out of his lungs.

"Dad." Naruto turned his head to Ame who clasped his hand once she noticed his eyes had opened.

Naruto closed his eyes. He could do this. Jiraiya's death hadn't broken him. Sai's death hadn't broken him. Mei's death hadn't broken him. Shion's death hadn't broken him. He could do this. He could move forward. He could – fuck, the tears were welling in his eyes.

"He's alive," Ame soothed as she rubbed her hand over his. "Uncle is alive."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

Sakura had been at the door arguing with another ANBU Captain who had come to bother Naruto with bad news. When she heard Naruto's voice, she slammed the door in Captain Hound's face and turned back to the room. Sakura sat on the edge of the bed and felt Naruto's questioning eyes on her.

"Orochimaru," Sakura explained.

Naruto's eyes hardened as he threw back his head into a pillow. "Fuck. I don't know whether I want to hug the guy or kill him. I should probably do both. I mean, how is it even possible? Sasuke was dead."

Sakura shook her head helplessly but explained what she had witnessed and gotten out of Sasuke.

"Will the blood have any ill effects?" Naruto asked.

"It seems to be wearing off. The healing rate is slowing. It should stop once the blood circulates out of his system." Sakura tapped her fingers against her arm.

"Where is Orochimaru now?"

"From what I understand from the hunter-nin, I accidentally punched him all the way to Waterfall country. When they came upon the body, the skin was shed and Orochimaru was gone. Alright Naruto, your turn because I hate being helpless while you lay unconscious and I've got no idea what's wrong with you."

"Wait, are we not going to commiserate the fact you punched Orochimaru all the way to Waterfall country? I think that deserves a moment of gloating."

"I already gloated while you were knocked out. Naruto, explain."

Naruto unconsciously rubbed at his stomach.

"I lost control," Naruto said simply. "The Kyuubi tried to get out, which activated the seal and stopped him. I separated my chakra from his but that doesn't mean he won't try to get out on occasion." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It happens."

"Naruto, it knocked you out." Sasuke looked up and knew Naruto was omitting something. "Naruto, you don't have to carry the Kyuubi alone anymore. It doesn't have to be just your burden to bear."

"It is my burden to bear. That's what it means to be a jinchuuriki," Naruto said softly and sighed. "The seal is as strong as it is because I've connected it to my life force."

"Naruto, you didn't."

"That was the only way I could strengthen the seal." Naruto said. "I think my emotions riled him up this time. It was my fault. I was careless."

"Naruto, you can't be blamed for your emotions. You have the right to be angry when your best friend is lying there with a hole in his chest. It wasn't your fault." Sakura sighed. "Does this means that this stunt here shaved years off of your life?"

"I'm a Uzumaki," Naruto answered, completely unapologetic.

"Naruto," Sakura chided softly.

Ame gave him a judgmental look. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her hair. "It's alright. The seal did what it was supposed to do – no chakra cloak, no tails, no chakra accidentally leaking out. Everything is fine."

Ame sniffed as she pushed forward and shoved into Naruto's arms. Naruto tilted his head and listened with a sigh to the impatient knock on the door. "Where is Sasuke? I need to see him alive."

"Getting his shit together," Sakura said simply.

Naruto leaned down toward Ame. "Go back to the compound. It'll probably be a late night for me." Ame nodded, but not without tightening her arms around Naruto again first.

"Wait. Ame, a date, really?"

Ame looked up at him, his fourteen year-old curled into his lap, and bit her tongue out in a playful grin. "I thought it was funny."

Naruto tickled her to the bed. Her hand slipped out of his. He bent down one last time to press a kiss on her head, very much aware that if Sasuke hadn't pushed him out of the way he'd be the one lying dead with a hole in his chest.

Finally, Naruto picked himself up and stretched out the kinks in his shoulder. Then he used the hiraishin seal to find Sasuke. He was a bit surprised to find himself in front of the memorial stone. Sasuke was sitting at the foot of it, knees pushed against his chest, and glowering at the name of 'Uchiha Itachi.' Tomu was there, leaning and pushing his weight against Sasuke's shoulder.

Naruto walked forward and sat cross-legged on the other side of Sasuke. It was a relief to see Sasuke physically whole again. Then Naruto frowned when he eyes hardened at the sight of Orochimaru's seal on Sasuke's neck. The bite marks were still red and inflamed and almost bubbled like infected skin.

Naruto caught Sasuke by the back of the neck and could feel the flinch underneath his palm. "Sasuke, look at me."

Reluctantly, Sasuke turned to face Naruto. Shame met defiance. "Sasuke, I can take that fucking seal off. Easily, with my eyes closed. Orochimaru must know that. He's just fucking with you. He's messing with your head. Don't let him win."

Weightless, Sasuke floated down to pressed his forehead against Naruto's shoulder and said, "If it wasn't for Sakura, he would have won."

"And if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead." Naruto said fiercely as he brought a hand up to massage his fingers into Sasuke's neck. "We're a team. The whole point of a team is to have someone at our backs when we can't do it alone."

Sasuke gave a slight nod. He understood, but it still didn't diminish the outright fear he was feeling. But he's come farther than last time. Then, he had lashed out in anger. Now, he knew himself enough now to realize all that anger was because he was downright fucking afraid of Orochimaru as a child would a monster in his closet.

"And there's no shame in being afraid of Orochimaru. Fuck, I'm afraid of Orochimaru. There's nothing wrong with that. There's no courage without fear and even us S-class ninja have to be humbles something. But I promise you, we'll kill him."

Sasuke scoffed.

"Don't scoff at me. We're one step closer. Orochimaru just gave you one of the two seals we needed and I already have a location on the other one from my spy network. His hubris gave us the very thing we'll use to take him down. And now we know that whatever Orochimaru is planning, he needs you alive for it."

Sasuke wouldn't put it past Orochimaru if all he wanted was for Sasuke to watch the world burn. Some men needed an audience, and more so men like Orochimaru, who needed people to recognize all of his accomplishments. The whole point of knowledge was to know more than someone else. Without the someone else, it ceases to have meaning.

"I don't know," Tomu said from the other side of Sasuke. "I was in the hallway and Orochimaru didn't even look at me. I mean, are we sure it's me that he wants? Are we entirely sure on what Orochimaru is after?"

In the end, Naruto could never be sure of anything when it came to Orochimaru. He sighed. "Why are we talking to Itachi?"

After a moment Sasuke responded. "I was apologizing - for making him wait - but I can't go with him yet."

* * *

"Sir, Yamanaka-sama is waiting for you in Torture and Interrogation. ANBU has captured all the individuals who infiltrated Konoha and they are currently being detained in T&I." ANBU Hound debriefed the Hokage as they walked through the hallway. ANBU Fox walked in the Hokage's shadow.

"How many casualties?"

"There was one casualty – a woman got trampled by the crowd trying to get away. There were a lot of injuries but for the most part ANBU acted quickly and extinguished the fires. ANBU also quarantined the witnesses to… the incident that happened with you. Their memories have been wiped and the general public believes it was nothing but a discharged firework gone awry."

"Good work." The Hokage praised his ANBU team for keeping things together. Through a back exit of the Hokage Tower and a hidden tunnel later, he emerged in the middle of T&I. A team of ninja from tech support had been called in to investigate the technology the attackers had used.

The Hokage went up to the team. His eyes scanned over the collapsed pieces of armor and long brown pole. "What is it?"

The leader, a woman wearing large glasses fumbled before the Hokage. The tech team didn't often get a chance to interact with the Kage. "Well sir, it seems this brown tube uses the same black powder that's used in fireworks. It doesn't require any chakra to discharge at all."

"It was that powerful and it doesn't need chakra?" Naruto asked. "How did it get into Konoha?"

"They told the gatekeepers that it was a new mechanism to discharge fireworks." Ino said as she walked up to the group. "It walked right through the gate without another look. I've already interrogated most of them and I've saved the one who took a potshot at you. They call it a gun."

"What about the armor?"

"Only the one that shot at you was wearing it. The pieces were smuggled in separately." Ino tapped her fingers on the wood. "I've seen this before but I can't remember…"

"Hokage-sama, we need to talk," ANBU Fox said. Naruto glanced back at Fox and walked a comfortable distance away from the tech team.

Once Fox said something, Ino frowned, and then her eyes lit up. "It was you."

Fox nodded. "That armor resembles the armor Mifune was working on in Iron Country for his samurai. I suspect that the new leadership has been working much more closely with Kuro no Keiyakusha."

"Of course its Iron Country," Naruto combed his fingers through his hair. "Refresh me again what this armor is supposed to do?"

"It blocks and cancels out chakra." Fox shrugged his shoulders. "It would give genin trouble. Maybe cause a chuunin to break a sweat."

But for all of Mifune's arrogance, all it took was Naruto's killing intent to immobilize it.

"The stick that killed me, I only saw blueprints of it. But as I said before, Mifune had a business relationship with the organization but if the new leadership of Iron Country has been actively pouring money into it – I wouldn't be surprised that its already come this far. That weapon is a concern."

"So what? Now we've got samurai and terrorists working together? Just perfect," Naruto grumbled and his eyes swept over the tech team in frustration. Then it came to him. Fox could see the epiphany explode behind Naruto's eyes.

"Wait," Naruto swiveled towards Fox and slapped his hands down on his shoulders. "We can use Fox's memories as evidence to prove that Iron Country has broken their neutrality. This is good." Naruto nodded. "Alright Ino, where is this guy that tried to kill me?"

Ino bowed her head and led that Kage to the cell. Naruto walked into the room to find a man tied to the chair. No scars, no pulse of chakra – just brown hair and tanned skin that's worked in a field all its life. It was perhaps the first time a civilian made it to this interrogation room.

The man lifted his head when Naruto entered, and Naruto recognized that look, it was the look of those who only saw the demon inside.

"Demon Fox, I regret that I didn't end you before I die. The Age of Ninja have come to an end. Civilians outnumber ninja and we have finally developed weapons that can kill you. We have the ability to fight back now. These ninja and the people of Konoha have created a holiday to praise you, a murderer among murderers. If only I had killed you, the worst of them all."

"Demon Fox, if I failed in my mission, I'm supposed to give you a message. If every ninja village doesn't lay down their arms and if every Kage doesn't turn themselves into their Daimyo, then there will be war. Civilians refuse to continue paying taxes to support your campaigns of death. We refuse to watch our loved ones die in the casualties to your wars. We refuse to live in a world of ninja."

Naruto had heard all this before from previous Kuro no Keiyakusha agents they had rooted out of Konoha. This propaganda was tiring. Naruto wasn't the one who built this system but he'll be damned if the people he's pledged to protect suffer because of a few misguided ill-informed individuals.

And the worse part was, Naruto wouldn't mind a world without ninja. But that would be one bloody and violent revolution. He had a village and a family to protect.

Naruto left the room and convened with Ino who had been going through and ripping apart the man's mind while Naruto met him face to face.

"It's the same MO as the others. A representative came by his house one day and spoon-fed him the propaganda until he agreed to join the movement. He lost a daughter who was an unfortunate bystander to a ninja battle and the representative took advantage of his grief. A week before today, he received a box and set of instructions on his doorstep. It's the same for the others. Kuro no Keiyakusha targets people who have lost loved ones to ninja-related incidents and purposefully manipulates them."

Naruto looked through the window at the civilian tied up to a chair. In the end, he was just a misguided victim. "You've got a visual on this representative?"

"No name but I'll have her image drawn up and in the hunter-nin's hands in a few minutes."

Naruto heard feet thundering in his direction. Naruto turned just as Captain Hound stopped, out of breath. "Sir, we've just started receiving the messages. It seemed that the incident at the festival was a signal of sorts. Civilians across the four shinobi nations have begun to rise up. We lost a chuunin team taking refuge in a village not too far from here. The innkeepers shot them at the dinner table."

"Recall all of ninja, except those on sensitive missions, home immediately," Naruto ordered. "We need all our ninja to see what these weapons look like. They're getting caught by surprise. We need to let them know what they're fighting. Get the tech team immediately started on finding weaknesses for these things."

"Sir," Captain Hound said. "There are also reports that they've started attacking faithful clients, those civilians who regularly do business with us."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Get several teams prepared. Show them the weapons and have them carefully scour Fire Country. Root these things out of my country."

"Sir."

"And you say these attacks are happening throughout every country?" Captain Hound nodded. "Call for a Kage Summit to deal with this situation. We'll meet in Kiri. It's neutral ground. You're dismissed."

Captain Hound nodded and left to communicate with all the various sections in Konoha to fulfill the Kage's orders.

"Hokage-sama." ANBU Fox stepped up beside the Kage and stared into the windowed room with a noticeable hunger. "If I may, I request to dispose of him."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He turned to Ino. "Can he give us anything else?"

Ino shook his head. Naruto stared at Fox. He simply had too much shit to do. And sometimes, it was easier to direct the force of nature that was Sasuke instead of containing it.

Naruto nodded and didn't look back.

* * *

ANBU Fox walked into the room, closed, and locked the door. He tapped against the window. Ino indulged him and closed the blinds. The civilian looked up and asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

Fox crouched down to meet the man at his seated height. Fox took off his ANBU mask. He wanted the man to see the person who was going to kill him.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha."

It both sadden and pleased Sasuke that even this man, this stupid piece of fuck shit civilian, knew his name. The horror across the man's face was as if he had just met the worst of his nightmares.

"You aimed at the wrong person."

* * *

Fox walked out the room to a slow clap. Ino was leaning against the opposite wall with blood on her smile. "You know, you could always work for me in Torture and Interrogation. Emphasis on the torture."

ANBU Fox stared at Ino. "Just so we're clear, you better be glad that Naruto go to Chouji first."

Ino's eyes gleamed with something dark. "No matter what happens Naruto will always be my Hokage. We're on the same side."

Fox tossed a broken and burnt husk of a hand at Ino's feet. "Just so we're clear."

* * *

ANBU Fox didn't bother cleaning away the blood from his mask and uniform before he returned to the Hokage. He might possibly have some gut sticking to the bottom of his shoe. When he entered the office he found Naruto debriefing Captain Owl, head of information and Konoha's spy networks.

Judging by the way his lazy demeanor would snap to attention when Naruto asked him a question, Fox immediately identified him as Shikamaru.

"I'm thinking about meeting privately with the Shogun of Iron Country. Now that we have evidence linking Iron Country to Kuro no Keiyakusha, I can use it for blackmail. Iron Country cannot afford to break its neutrality agreement and this evidence will undeniably do that. I might be able to convince the Shogun to betray the location of KNK in exchange for keeping the evidence quiet."

"I think that might be for the best," Captain Owl nodded. "Otherwise, we'd have to expose the Shogun, get together a coalition of forces from the other nations to invade Iron Country, and it would undeniably ignite a war. This would be the best option to avoid that and it would ensure the anonymity," Owl glanced at Fox, "of our source for the evidence."

"Although, I'm not sure about the Kage summit. It's not safe for you especially in light of the Kyuubi Leak."

"This civilian uprising is affecting all of us. We need to be on the same page for this."

"Sir," a ninja rushed into the office with a message. "A group of civilians attacked a Kumo team of ninja at a bar. The ensuing fight led one ninja to destroy to entire village. It led to the casualties of thirty-two civilians."

"We need to be on the same page to make sure shit like that does not happen," Naruto growled as he snatched up the message. "This is the type of shit that further legitimizes these terrorists' arguments. They're civilians. We can't fight back with undue force. That is the message I need to get across to the other Kages."

Another ninja came rushing in. "Um sir." The ninja didn't even read the message but handed it to the Kage. Naruto's face went ashen. ANBU Fox placed his hand on the hilt of his katana.

"What is it?" Owl asked.

"Iwa has lost their fucking minds. Kurotsuchi has started razing entire villages to the ground. She's declared an ultimatum in Earth Country: either stop killing her ninja or she'll stop killing them. It's the very thing proving us the monsters they claim us to be." Naruto rubbed at his brow. "The only way this is going to stop is if we root out their organization. The tech team has started to discern the component used in the gunpowder. Hopefully our forensics can trace where it came from and see where these weapons are being manufactured. Hopefully it'll lead us straight to the cells in Fire Country."

"It might not end with them," Owl said thoughtfully. "All they have to do is go house by house and say, 'Every civilian has a right to defend themselves, here, a gun'. The armor is too intricate and expensive. Only lords will be able to acquire it. But the average citizen could get a hold of a gun and that will pose our biggest problem. These guns might have forever changed the fate of the ninja world."

"Message Neji. We need the Daimyo to give a statement that its illegal to have or own a gun in Fire Country."

"You have enough weight and influence to make that happen," Owl said without a doubt, "But places like Ame that have no control over their citizens… it's going to be chaos. And the lesser countries without ninja villages might not agree. They might deem a gun and some armor is more cost effective than hiring ninja."

Naruto sighed, then he scrunched his nose and lifted his head as if suddenly realizing Fox was in the room. "Fox, I need you to back in the compound."

"No. My Kage is here."

"Fox, I'm secure in the office. I need you at the compound. They took a shot at Ame to draw me out. They might try to do the same with the other children. Watch over my kids, please. And take a shower."

Fox grunted. He dropped his hand from his katana and walked towards the window. He placed a foot on the windowsill and said suddenly, "Your birthdays suck."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. The crazy part, Naruto considered this night maybe top five in his list of terrible birthdays but it's definitely not the worst. Naruto waved him away and Fox leapt out the window.

Captain Owl leaned against the armrest and said thoughtfully. "He's changed."

"Everything changes."

* * *

_**They call it a gun.** _

* * *

**x**

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The guns featured in this chapter is the Tanegashima that were introduced to Japan in 1543.


	18. Love and Happiness

"I believe this is the first time a Kage has been in Iron Country," The Shogun said with distaste when he entered his office and found the Hokage admiring the various samurai memorabilia in his office.

"I wouldn't be so certain of that," The Hokage said with an amused smile that deepened the Shogun's frown. "The trains are rather fun to ride."

This was the last thing the Shogun expected when he walked into his office. If the Hokage wanted to talk to him, he expected a message. But as usual, Naruto Uzumaki wasn't known to be predictable. And from what the Shogun could tell, the only security the Hokage brought with him was a single ANBU with a Fox mask.

The Shogun couldn't decide if he was offended or impressed by the man's arrogance. His mentor, Mifune had always considered the Demon Fox the most dangerous of the new generation of Kages but as a few months ago, everyone learned that Naruto could no longer summon the Kyuubi and yet here he was, had just strolled into his office with the balls of a bull.

"You're violating the Neutrality Agreement by being here."

"You violated the agreement first." The Hokage straightened from his inspection of a first generation samurai armor. Naruto leaned against the center of the Shogun's desk. The large painting of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of Iron Country, framed the back of the Hokage's head. "You violated the agreement when you financially supported a terrorist group that has publically declared war of the Four Shinobi Nations."

"And what evidence do you have to support these claims?" The Shogun frowned. He had been careful. There should have been nothing tying Kuro no Keiyakusha to the government of Iron Country.

The ANBU Fox shifted his hand to his katana. That one movement spoke volumes. The Shogun's eyes narrowed. That was one of their samurai or someone close enough to learn the secret techniques. The Shogun had a hard time believing that one of their own would betray them and yet, there was no mistaking the calluses and practiced grip on the hilt. Any kenjutsu expert could look at the ANBU agent and tell he had been trained in Iron Country.

It was evidence enough.

"What do you want?" The Shogun spat, angry.

"The location and all your intel on Kuro no Keiyakusha. Also, a temporary pardon to allow the Joint Shinobi Nations into your country to deal with them."

"No. Iron Country will not have ninja trampling through its lands."

"Then it will be Iron Country that the Fourth Shinobi Nations deals with. Meet my demands or I will publicly release all evidence to Iron Country's involvement in financing the weapons used in these recent terrorist attacks and prove you have violated your Neutrality Agreement. You have a choice here: Iron Country or Kuro no Keiyakusha. Choose wrong I will personally lead the charge and will not stop until this entire country is under water. I will wipe this place off the fucking map."

It was as if Tokugawa Ieyasu was looking down at Naruto with sudden familiarity. The Shogun had the distinct awareness that he was in the presence of Tokugawa's reincarnation.

The Shogun should have been frightened by the threat but instead a heady spike of lust clouded over him and for a moment the Shogun wondered what it would be like to have this powerful man whose stature matched that of legends unravelling in passion underneath him.

"Choose."

The Shogun shivered. He's felt so afloat since Mifune died, who had left him floundering to lead the country. He had to continue Mifune's vision for Iron Country but all he suddenly wanted to do was surrender to this man, bow to his feet, and move wherever the tide of the Kage's will took him. Now he understood why the Kazekage loved him, and the Raikage respected him, and the Ichikage feared him.

The Shogun tightened his hands into fists. He had to think about his country. He had to stand firm against this giant in the room. But all he could do was bend to the man's will and choose, "Iron Country."

Naruto nodded as if he had already expected the decision. Then his gaze grew dark and turned his eyes a stormy blue. The Shogun's dick twitched and he wondered helplessly how he could be so affected by a man who didn't need a demon to protect him.

"Don't think I'll ever forget that it was Iron Country's iron and Iron Country's money that built the weapon aimed for my head. Konoha will be watching. One more wrong move and the Neutrality Agreement is over."

"From this point onward Iron Country will consider its actions more carefully," The Shogun replied and then asked, "A Kage is in my capital. Please allow me to give you a tour of the gardens and we will discuss all the paperwork we need to send to your office."

The Hokage lifted himself from the desk. "I'd be delighted. I've always heard the gardens of Iron Country are a sight to see. With the leaves changing in autumn, I am sure they are stunning at this time of year."

The Shogun smiled as he walked toward the Kage. He drew close enough to where he could easily grab his dagger from his belt and stab it into the Kage's stomach. He found himself saddened by the thought of his enemy's death. It would be a waste. If he killed this man he feared that the fate of the world would be forever changed. Instead, he placed his hand at the Kage's belt and reveled in the movement of him as they walked toward the garden – confident, powerful, with all the arrogance of a predator.

Fuck, he was the leader of Iron, the wealthiest country of the world and yet right now, he wanted nothing more than to earn acknowledgement from the Hokage of Konoha.

* * *

Three days later, the Joint Shinobi Nations sent a team into Iron Country and demolished Kuro No Keiyakusha's main base of operations. But it didn't end the violence. The match had already been lit and it spread through the Shinobi Nations like wildfire.

It took months for the ninja world to find some kind of normalcy in the face of the sudden civilian unrest. Every country reacted differently. In Suna, the civilians tried to take control of the oasis and water sources, leaving the Kazekage to react swiftly, decisively, and without mercy. Iwa took it to the extreme, leaving behind entire villages populated only by ghosts. Kumo was in an uproar among themselves when Killer Bee had the brazenness to ask in a song, 'Does the world really need ninja?' In the village of Amegakure, even the ninja was using guns. In countries without a ninja village, the Daimyo didn't see the difference between hiring ninja to protect them and buying guns to protect them. It became just another tool.

In Konoha, the Hokage completely rooted out the terrorist's cell operating in Fire Country and outlawed all firearms within his borders. But individuals who wanted guns still found ways to smuggle them in or found ways to make makeshift albeit less ineffective ones. The Hokage established new precedents for Leaf ninja - ninja were no longer allowed to rent rooms inside villages and now camped outside of towns instead. Genin were no longer sent on escort missions, the level permanently upgraded to chuunin or higher. There was now a distrust between civilian and ninja that could never be mended.

The ninja world was on the edge of something no one could put into words.

But for the most part, except for the event at the festival, Konoha was insulated from the unrest in other parts of the world. The civilian citizens of Konoha weren't at all inclined to rebel against the Hokage. Sasuke Uchiha barely felt it at all with the exception of Naruto's absence.

No amount of shadow clones could accurately portray every facet of an individual's personality and Naruto's duties as Hokage left a hanging cloud over the compound. While waiting for Naruto to put the world back together, Sasuke found himself bored and frustrated. His frustration stemmed from his futile attempts at fixing Kusanagi. With every new sword that he forged, he was no longer improving.

That's how Sasuke found himself knocking on the front door of Konoha's Chief of Police.

Tenten answered the door with her hair already down for the day. Her brunette locks curled and cascaded over her shoulder. She answered the door while eating a small box of stir-fry. "I'm not buying whatever you're selling. Oh, Hohei, it's been a while."

Sasuke watched the blush cross Hohei's face and inwardly snorted at how easily this Hyuuga could lose his composure. Sasuke had spent a while trying to figure out the best way to approach the Weapon Mistress and decided that he needed Hohei just to get to through the front door.

"I need your help," Hohei said outright.

Tenten laughed at that. "A Hyuuga needs my help? What's new?" Tenten stepped back and invited Hohei and his 'friend' inside.

It seemed Hohei already knew the layout of the house and Sasuke followed him to the small haphazard living room.

"If this has anything to do with police business, I don't do favors for anyone. I have a reputation to uphold so you're shit out of luck." Tenten stuck her head in the room. "I know you want green tea. What does your friend want?"

"Tea is fine," Hohei said.

Tenten returned later and handed Sasuke tea in a coffee mug. Tenten raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's reluctance before he pulled it close to take a sip. "So who's this?"

"We're friends." Hohei answered slowly.

Tenten gave a sharp laugh. "The balls on you Hyuuga. I mean yeah, I have more side jobs than just you but I don't bring them over to your house and invite them in for tea." Tenten folded her hand underneath her chin. "You came here to ask a favor of the woman you used to fuck for the guy you're now fucking?" Tenten glanced over at Sasuke with a wicked grin as sharp as her weapons. "Does he do that Jyuuken thing to you? It's really the only reason to keep a Hyuuga around."

"I'm going to tell her," Sasuke stated blandly. He didn't come here to compare dick sizes with Tenten.

"Wait, wait," Hohei shoved forward to put a physical distance between Tenten and Sasuke. "I just want you to know that this is Hokage sanctioned and Naruto gave the go ahead."

"Huh?" Tenten asked.

Sasuke released the henge covering him.

Sasuke had no idea where Tenten suddenly got the kunai in her hand but for her credit she didn't panic like most would have done. She simply narrowed her eyes at him in recognition and demanded, "Hohei, fucking explain."

Sasuke knew not to make any quick movements while Hohei explained how Sasuke was in Konoha.

"Wait, you're telling me I'm the Chief of Police and this guy has been in Konoha this entire time?" Tenten spat out venomously. "Obviously, the Hokage and I are going to have a little talk. What do you want Uchiha?"

Sasuke moved slowly as he spread a scroll out onto the table. When he applied chakra the broken pieces of Kusanagi appeared on the table. "I need your help to fix it. Thus far, I've only been able to forge an unreliable blade that no one would want to bring in battle and the chakra it can conduct is minimal. I would like to restore this sword."

He wasn't naïve to believe that fixing Kusanagi would give him any edge against Orochimaru but it was one of the only things he had broken in his ability to fix.

"First, fixing a sword like this is a shitload of work. Second, I never really liked you in the first place. Third, Hohei are you really fucking this guy?"

Hohei studied the crevices of her table. It was really interesting. It was as if Tenten sometimes carved a kunai through it in boredom.

"Tenten," Sasuke said to refocus her attention. "If you help me restore Kusanagi, I will give you the sword I am currently wielding." Sasuke unsheathed his sword with flourish and held it out in his hand for her to inspect. "Its name is Zatoichi."

Tenten took one look.

"Yes, holy shit, yes." Tenten carefully took the sword from Sasuke and studied it in awe. "It's beautiful." There were tears forming in Tenten's eyes at the sight of it. "Usually I wake up at sunrise to do some target practice before going into work. We can meet at my family's forge instead."

Tenten handed back the sword reluctantly. It was the only thing she planned on giving up tonight. "You can leave now Uchiha but leave the Hyuuga behind."

Sasuke looked over at Hohei to make sure this was okay with him. Hohei gave a reluctant sigh but it wasn't a very encouraging one. The man looked as if he was already hanging from noose. "If you hurt him no one will ever find your body."

Tenten flipped a kunai in the air and casually caught it behind her back. "Cute." Then Tenten shooed him toward the door.

Sasuke looked back one more time. Hohei nodded again, which left Sasuke no choice but to leave. Sasuke gathered his scroll and walked out the door.

"Hohei," Tenten said once the door closed shut. The kunai she flipped in her hand finally stilled. "The last time I saw you was the night your Aburame died. You never came back."

Hohei looked up toward the ceiling and exhaled a breath that squeezed through his entire body. "We didn't fuck that night."

"No shit," Tenten replied. It felt as if the room was filled with a tangle of ninja wire and Hohei was trapped at its center. One wrong move and he'd cut himself to pieces. Tenten's words drew the strings taunt. "You said you loved me."

Hohe slapped his hand violently down onto the table, choosing to snap apart the tension and no doubt wounding him in the process. "I just lost my best friend. I didn't know what I was saying. What do you want? Can't I just go down on you and get this night over with?"

Tenten narrowed her eyes with accusation. Her words stabbed into his skin like the fine point of a kunai. "You ran away. _You ran away to Sasuke Uchiha_. Who does that?"

"He was simple," Hohei bled. "Sasuke doesn't want or demand anything more than sex. We used to be simple too. And I fucked it up. I made it too complicated."

"It's not fucking complicated." Tenten felt betrayed, again. "You're just like fucking Neji. All you Hyuuga are just alike."

Hohei spun on his heels at the accusation. He hated that she has always compared him to Neji and was more than willing to throw her assumptions back in her face. "You were fucking a Hyuuga. What did you expect would happen?"

Tenten stepped back. She was the Chief of Konoha's Police Force. You'd think silly words like those wouldn't hurt her but her eyes dropped to the kunai she held limp in her hands. "All of you Hyuuga are damn fools."

Hohei should have left then but he was so unused to seeing doubt and vulnerability on Tenten's face. From the first moment he met her, she wore a tight armor of weapons around her, warning off anyone who dared to get close. But it was as if Tenten had yielded her weapons and left herself open for the first time in years. For the six years they've known each other – it was just sex – just wasting time – not emotions and arguments and complications.

"It can still be simple. I've got time. You've got time. Nothing has to change." Tenten said as she approached Hohei. Hohei closed his eyes when Tenten reached and gently began to loosen his pants.

She was wrong because every time they did this it would hurt. He'd remember the poisonous words he revealed during a moment of grief and vulnerability. Every time they did this, it would leave him hurting and bleeding all over her floor.

Because it was no longer sex to him.

Hohei gritted his teeth as Tenten pulled down his pants. Every touch of her hand was a kunai carving through his skin. Hohei leaned forward, timidly pressed his lips to the shadowed corner of her mouth, and bled for her.

* * *

"I still can't believe it," Tenten said as Sasuke walked up the road to her family forge located on private land outside the gates of Konoha. She had figured Sasuke Uchiha for dead, not living right under her nose in Konoha for the past year. The last time she had seen the Uchiha was across a battlefield during the Fourth Shinobi War. He looked different and yet he looked the same. His hair was longer and pulled back into a short ponytail in preparation to work in the heat of a forge. Even though life had been more of a tragedy for him, time has been brilliantly kind to his face. Tenten never considered herself as one of the fangirls but Sasuke had developed a more rugged veteran look that caused even her to take notice.

Then Sasuke shoved Tenten against the nearest surface he could find, which happened to be a tree.

"I see you're still an asshole," Tenten said without a flinch. She pressed a kunai against Sasuke's ribcage where she could easily slip through the ribs and puncture a lung. Sasuke didn't flinch or fear the sharp tip of her reputation.

"Hohei's upset."

Tenten didn't know what she more surprised by: the fact Sasuke seemed to actually care about someone other than himself or the way he somehow made a sentence into a threat, question, and demand all in one.

Tenten refused to be cowed by Sasuke Uchiha and raised her chin defiantly. "What business is he of yours? Are you going to exact revenge because I've hurt your butt toy's feelings?"

Sasuke surprised Tenten yet again when he didn't snap into a blind rage. Didn't mean he didn't want to kill her though. She could feel the anger melting through his voice, almost a physical heat on her skin. "Hohei Hyuuga is under my protection."

Something about Sasuke itched at her like a dull kunai. His eyes narrowed and his eerie bright brown eyes caught in the sunlight. Tenten suddenly understood and said in challenge, "What could you possibly protect without the sharingan?"

Tenten kunai ripped through the cloth of Sasuke's shirt. The blue strips of cloth fluttered in the speed in which Tenten whipped around the tree. The scroll she pulled from her belt cracked as she whipped it open.

She was meeting with Sasuke Uchiha, of course she came armed.

Tenten twisted and released five shuriken from between her fingers. She never missed but they never even came close to reaching Sasuke. They were engulfed wide in large flames and dropped as melted heaps of metal in the grass. Tenten immediately did the calculations: the melting point of iron was 1,538 Celsius.

None of her weapons were going to survive this - the hottest fire jutsu she's ever confronted. Her only hope was to be faster than him, but like most highly advanced ninja, from what she could tell Sasuke didn't need to vocalize his jutsu to focus his chakra; he didn't even need hand seals for most of them. Sasuke's preparation time was literally seconds – perhaps the highest indicator of an opponent's skill.

Tenten realized she has already lost this fight and she can waste her assortment of weapons in Sasuke's fire or surrender now.

Tenten raised her hands in surrender and for the first time felt nervous when Sasuke's katana stilled at her neck.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you now," Sasuke demanded.

"Hohei and I are complicated," Tenten whispered along the art of his blade. It was even more beautiful this close against her neck. She can feel the sharp kiss of it against her skin.

Sasuke was a man who understood complicated. Begrudgingly, he released her. He sheathed his sword with flourish and with a sweep of his hand stamped out the surrounding flames with ease. Tenten rolled her eyes at the drama of it all.

Sasuke walked toward the forge.

Tenten waited a moment for the adrenaline to recede, then she pushed off the tree and followed Sasuke to the forge. When she caught up with him, Sasuke was already inspecting the small huffing building. One side of the forge was the mechanical machinery favored in Iron Country and Ame that they needed if her family had a large order to fill. On the other side, was the more traditional by-hand-method that their ancestors had once used.

"Which one do you prefer?" Tenten asked, testing. She walked around and opened the windows to breath air through the space.

"I can use both," Sasuke said flatly before he crouched down in front of the pit and stones. Tenten noted that Sasuke certainly knew what he was doing. The traditional method was preferred for personalization and crafting something complex – like Kusanagi.

"Is this a profitable venture?" Sasuke asked. Sasuke was highly doubtful because at one time he had worked in a kunai factory himself. Mass production and assembly was much faster and cheaper than a family forge hand-making every one.

"We've had to start making specialty kunai," Tenten said as she picked one up from a nearby station. "Forging kunai that can conduct chakra is a much more tedious process that can't be replicated in a factory."

"Alright, Uchiha, show me what you've got." Tenten said as she gave access to her forge.

Sasuke hated the eyes over his shoulder but he got to work. He wiped sweat from his forehead when he paused and looked up at Tenten. She was whipping a flail casually around her waist and wondered if her hands needed to be in constant motion.

"Love is a sacrifice."

Her hands stopped. Tenten leaned to the right to evade the heavy weight at the flail's end. "What?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Hohei is a clan ninja – a Hyuuga clan ninja. Love is a sacrifice."

The reflection of Tenten's smirk gleamed in the metal of the halberd she balanced on the end of her toe. "Are you giving me dating advice?"

"No. I'm offering the opportunity to better understand him. When you are born into a clan like the Uchiha or the Hyuuga, you make your peace with the knowledge that you will marry who the Clan Head tells you to. Strengthening the doujutsu is a matter of survival – the survival of the village, of the clan, and of yourself. To a Clan ninja, it's the whole over the individual and love is one of the many sacrifices that you make."

"That is an old way of life left over from the Warring States before any of the ninja villages were even founded," Tenten argued. "It has no place in today's society."

"Not too long ago Konoha was at war," Sasuke pointed out. "The clan does have a place. A clan is safety and comfort when you return home from a mission. It is easy acceptance after you've massacred thousands. It's unconditional family when you return and no matter how lost and broken you have become it is their responsibility to take care of you. You will never be abandoned. Ask a Hyuuga to choose you over his clan and he will always choose the clan. Maybe if Naruto manages to make this peace last then the clan system will eventually evolve or dismantle. The Hyuuga clan is changing but Hohei is still of that generation that comprehends the world differently than you do."

Tenten twisted nun chucks like a whirlwind from one arm to the next. "You're right. I don't get it. I'll never understand why Neji married Hinata and ran off to the capital even knowing in the end that she was going to break his heart."

"No. As a clan ninja, you break your own heart before someone else can break it before you."

"That's tragic."

"That's life."

"Aren't you the voice for pessimism." Tenten leaned back as she juggled caltrops. "What about you? Do you think if your clan had never died, you'd be married and with two children by now?"

Sasuke gave the question some serious thought but he really had a difficult time seeing himself fitting into those strict guidelines. "I am neither Neji nor Hohei. I do not fear the village, or convention, or traditions. I did not fear turning my back on the clan when I abandoned the village. I'd have burned down the whole world for Itachi. Don't you think I'd do the same for someone I loved?" Sasuke waved his hand as if it was all inconsequential. "I cannot be compared to other ninja for I am strong enough to stand on my own."

"I see the years haven't diminished your ego."

"It was rather large to begin with."

Tenten almost missed catching the twin sai she had flipped into the air. The sudden joke and almost self-deprecating tone in Sasuke's voice had caught her off-guard. Tenten smiled inwardly and imagined that this was the Sasuke Uchiha he always should have been if the massacre had never happened.

She kind of liked this version of Sasuke.

Several hours later, Sasuke dropped the finished product before Tenten. The sword, like all the others he had tried to create, was a piece of junk.

"Your techniques are good," Tenten said. "But you're using the wrong material. First, different materials conduct chakra differently and in the ninja world there is no material that conduct chakra better than the trees for chakra paper. I reckon Narita had no choice but to do business with Konoha because we supply the chakra paper."

"How do you forge a sword with chakra paper?" Sasuke asked with a frown.

"That is the question. My family has figured out how to do it with something as small as a kunai but with something as big as an entire katana it gets even trickier. We've never been able to accomplish it but I'm up for the challenge. Maybe we fail or maybe we won't. What do you say?"

Sasuke offered his hand and they shook in conciliation.

"I look forward to working with you, Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

One morning after returning to the compound from Tenten's family forge, Sasuke found a note tied to the handle of a hiraishin kunai on his coffee table.

When Sasuke finally activated the kunai at the time designated on the note, Sakura appeared seconds later with her own hiraishin kunai.

"He could have elaborated," Sakura tsked as she fluttered the terse note.

They swept their eyes over the room that Naruto had apparently led them to. There were two bodies laid ceremoniously atop a world map of the Shinobi nations within one of the largest seals Sasuke has ever seen. Naruto's shadow clone sat dead center in the circle in a meditative pose. There were no doors which meant only a hiraishin kunai could access the room.

Hokage Naruto appeared in the room a moment later. He turned to them with a grin washed in the glow of the candles. There was a smudge of ink on his cheek. "During the whole Kuro no Keiyakusha manhunt one of my spies caught wind of the seal we needed."

Naruto walked over to the stationary bodies. He pressed his foot against the head of the corpse to move it aside and reveal the seal on its neck. Naruto pointed to the other corpse. "After I took the seal off of Sasuke, I replicated and put it on this dead guy. With these guys we should be able to pinpoint the locations of all of Orochimaru's seals across the world."

"That's great, Naruto." Sakura said. "We haven't been meeting about Orochimaru since the whole Kuro no Keiyakusha thing but I'm glad we're still making progress."

Naruto turned back to his shadow clone in the center of the seal and asked, "Are we ready?"

The seal on the floor began to glow a ghastly green. Orochimaru's seals hummed red. A flare of lights burned onto the map. Small flames scorched circles around the location of every one of Orochimaru's seals. Their location varied all over the world. There were a lot more than Sasuke was anticipating.

"So if we kill all of them Orochimaru won't have anyone to influence to bring him back after we kill him," Sakura said excitedly.

"If we can kill him," Sasuke grumbled, "And there's nothing we can do now. If we send someone to start killing them, it will tip Orochimaru off to our plan and he'll just make more."

"I agree." Naruto nodded. "The moment we kill Orochimaru, I'll send out teams to take care of Orochimaru's seals and thanks to Sasuke, we now know what will definitely draw him out."

"I should be able to fake Sasuke's death without actually bringing him to harm," Sakura said. "Which means all we need now is your seals."

Naruto winced. "I haven't had a lot of time to work on them but once these uprisings calm down, I'll devote all my free time toward completing the seals. We can't confront Orochimaru without a way to prevent him from taking over our bodies."

"We're getting closer," Sakura said. "If we can draw Orochimaru out in a direct fight between the three of us, no matter how shifty that Snake is, we'll definitely have a chance."

"Or he'll kill us all," Sasuke huffed.

"Sasuke, do I have to punch you all the way to Waterfall Country?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

Sasuke quickly amended, "We'll defeat Orochimaru and live happily ever after. The end."

* * *

The civilian unrest was just calming down when Hinata entered the last month of her pregnancy. If Sasuke saw very little of Naruto during the unrest period, now he didn't see him at all. Sure, shadow clones still ran around the compound but even the kids knew Naruto was distant and pre-occupied elsewhere.

Thus it came as a surprise when Naruto slipped through his window one night. Sasuke was startled out of sleep and recognized Naruto's chakra just before he reached for the kunai under his pillow.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke cursed as he sat up.

Naruto seemed to be wary about coming in at first but when Naruto noticed Sasuke didn't have company, Naruto took two steps inside. He asked curiously, "Where's Hohei?"

With Tenten, but Sasuke didn't say that aloud. The Weapon Mistress seems to have absconded his Hyuuga for the time being.

Sasuke ignored Naruto and turned back round onto the futon. He was exhausted. In the morning he worked with Tenten. Afterwards, he brought his work to the Uzumaki forge and continued to work on Kusanagi while monitoring the compound. It left him physically exhausted by the end of the day.

"Want to go for drinks?"

Sasuke peeked open an eye and peered up at Naruto. "Ask Sakura. She's the lush."

"You don't make things easy do you?" Naruto asked as he combed through his hair in indecision. With Sasuke it was always better to be blunt with what you wanted. "Fine, I was thinking and… will you be my daughter's godfather?"

Sasuke was awake now. He sat up in bed with matted pillow hair framing a glare. "Were you trying to get me drunk enough to say yes because I don't see how I could ever say anything other than no."

"Oh come on, how bad a godfather can you really be?" Naruto asked. "If I die, all you have to really do is show up when she turns twelve, take her on a two-year journey around the country and show her all the secrets on how to sneak into bathhouse and brothels."

"No offense Naruto but your godfather sucked," Sasuke said. Begrudgingly, he picked himself up and went to the bathroom since this was actually going to turn into a conversation. Sasuke glared at his reflection in the mirror as if berating himself for being awake. He remembered there was a time when he was so paranoid and hyper-vigilant that he could fully wake up at the slightest of movements. But now… he was getting old or something. He needed coffee and at least half an hour watching the sun rise.

Sasuke leaned forward and quickly mussed his hair into something tamer.

"Jiraiya wasn't that bad! I touched my first boob with him!" Naruto called out even though Sasuke could hear him clearly through the open door of the bathroom. After a moment Naruto conceded, "Alright, pervy-sage wasn't the best but he wasn't _terrible_."

"So I should teach your daughter how to grope women without their consent?"

"Shut up, teme."

Sasuke leaned against the frame once he was done in the bathroom. "Whose Boruto's godfather?"

"Seriously Sasuke? You went into the bathroom just to fix your hair? The back is still sticking up."

No, it wasn't. Sasuke whipped around and checked in the mirror. It wasn't. Naruto snickered. Sasuke sent him the middle finger. "You didn't answer the question."

"Iruka."

"Why not just go with him instead, or hell, anyone else in Konoha? I don't do kids."

"Sasuke, every one of my kids think you're the coolest thing to walk the fucking earth. I've already talked with Hinata about it. With a whole Hyuuga clan you never have to worry about taking care of her if something was to happen to me."

"A Hyuuga could go crazy and slaughter the entire clan."

"Har, har, very funny."

"It could happen."

"Let's not jinx it. All you have to do is buy her presents for her birthday and that's it."

Sasuke uncrossed his arms. He could do that, he guessed. "Where's that drink?"

And that's how they ended up sitting atop Sasuke's roof with a bottle of sake shared between them. Naruto's sudden presence reminded Sasuke of how much he's missed the man in his absence.

"How's it coming along with Kusanagi? That's what you've been working on right?"

"I can make a chakra-conducting kunai," Sasuke said. There was a little bit of pride in his voice despite himself.

"Have you thought about what are you going to do after Orochimaru?" Naruto suddenly asked. "I mean, you can't exactly own anything since you're forever ANBU but Tomu could buy the land, get a shop set up, and you can make a business out of this stuff once you figure it all out. Chakra-conducting katana are rare and far between."

"Actually, I was thinking of dusting off the old Uchiha secret recipe for senbei and give the ramen business a run for its money."

Naruto laughed at that, and then he stopped. Naruto attempted to peer through Sasuke's poker face and had no idea whether the guy was shitting him or not. "You're not really serious?"

Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow.

"No, there's no way the Uchiha really had a secret recipe."

Sasuke drank his cup of sake, all proper and shit with both hands, and casually said, "Do you know the underground bunker beneath the Naka shrine that holds the Uchiha stone tablet?"

Naruto turned his head in direction of the Naka shrine still standing sentinel in the backyard forest by the graves and the ghosts. "Yeah, I don't really mess with that place much. Lots of dust mites."

"There's another bunker under that bunker."

"Okay," Naruto waggled the sake cup he had just emptied. "I'm not going to fall for it this time."

Sasuke leaned and whispered conspiratorially, "I'll show you."

"Ten ryo you're bullshitting me."

"One hundred." Sasuke took one more shot. "I'll consider it start-up funds for my future business. When I send Ichiraku into bankruptcy you'll only have yourself to blame."

Naruto snorted. "Sure Sasuke. Lead the way."

The back gate screeched open as they stumbled through the forest like two irresponsible teenagers about to get caught any second desecrating the family tomb. The Naka shrine had seen better days. It was never entirely rebuilt after the Pein invasion and one side had collapsed inwards. Naruto and Sasuke picked through the debris.

"This fire shouldn't be out. As long as there is a Uchiha living in the compound this fire should never be out," Sasuke said as he frowned at the empty altar. He frowned further when he noticed the names that had been added to the shrine recently, or perhaps years ago. "You've been here."

"It's in my backyard," Naruto said defensively. "Perhaps there's a way to erase your name off of there."

Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand away. His name might as well stay. By clan definition, he was not a Uchiha. And Tomu didn't even claim that last name. Besides, none of this mattered to him when he left the village. Should he really be so surprised to finally return and find it extinguished?

Sasuke searched around for the right tatami mat. He shoved it aside and motioned to Naruto to follow him inside. They kicked up dust when their feet hit the ground. When it finally cleared, you could clearly see every footprint they made on the grime thick floor.

The Uchiha stone tablet had not withered since Sasuke had seen it last.

"This is my first time seeing this thing," Naruto said as he crouched down to inspect it. "Looks like a bunch of gibberish to me."

"I'd bring Tomu here but he would find anything that was not Killer Bee's rap lyrics boring," Sasuke said disgruntled.

"Kids." Naruto shrugged his shoulders as if saying, 'What can you do?'

"Honestly, I'm not sure I want him to see it. It's all inconsequential now." So many people have altered and defaced it over the years until all the Uchiha had was a legacy of lies.

"What does it say?" Naruto asked genuinely curious.

Sasuke had to bring up the words by memory since he currently didn't have the sharingan. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as dismissive as Naruto had just done. "Most of it are lies anyways. Basically, it's about the Mangekyo sharingan, how to control the bijuu, story of the Six Paths – a bunch of shit that doesn't matter anymore."

"You know what I should do? I should build a shrine and have a secret room only those of the Uzumaki Clan can access and I'll build my own stone tablet."

"That's stupid."

Naruto grinned. "Wait, I'm not finished yet. And then when I die, my last dying words will be, ' _My children, I have left all of my secrets for you on a stone tablet but you'll have to break my seal to earn them_.' And it will be the most complicated seal in the history of fucking seals so much so that it will take generations to unlock it. And when they finally do, the words shall read:

' _My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and the uncontested prankster in the history of Konoha and you, my dear children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, have all been pranked!_ '"

Sasuke barked in laughter. Because that what this big ass stone tablet felt like now - as if his ancestors decided to build it just to fuck everyone up. It's been nothing but trouble and ironic misery from the start.

"And because I'm the best godfather in the world, I'll leave Impure Resurrection jutsu to your great-great-grandchildren so after they read your tablet they can reincarnate you and kick your ass."

Naruto laughed at the idea. "Ah man, Sasuke, we've got to do this. It'll be my greatest prank ever. After Orochimaru bites the dust I am so working on this seal."

Orochimaru's name killed Sasuke's rare moment of laughter.

Sasuke's shoulder slumped. He had just been joking about the senbei shop. He answered more honestly, "There's nothing beyond Orochimaru. Thinking that far ahead is… terrifying. Because if it doesn't work out, if it all ends with Orochimaru, all that hope was just wasted energy."

From where he was crouched, Naruto reached out squeezed Sasuke's a hand – a simple gesture, much like how Sasuke had done for Naruto at the festival. Naruto promised, "If taking out Orochimaru is what you need to dream again, I'll do it."

Naruto shook Sasuke's hand and waved his loose arm around until he received acknowledgement of the promise in the form of a nod.

Naruto stood up and wiped the dust from his pants. "Alright Sasuke, where is this bunker under a bunker?"

Sasuke was glad for the change in subject. He immediately busied himself by searching the room, which gave him an excuse to collect his volatile emotions. Finally, Sasuke upturned a tatami mat on the right side of the room. Naruto went over, saw the seal imprinted on the floor, and cursed.

"You owe me a hundred ryo."

"Whatever Sasuke. Do whatever you like but you'll never be able to take out Ichiraku. You have terrible customer service."

"That's what I'd hire people for, dobe."

Sasuke bit into his thumb and swiped it on the ground. The tile hidden underneath the tatami mat disappeared as if it was never there. Sasuke and Naruto dropped down into even more dust. Cobwebs coated the shadows. Naruto got the eerie feeling that he had stepped into one of those movies about chasing down secret artifacts in tombs.

Sasuke knew Naruto was now an Hokage, he knew he was no longer that idiotic little boy, but he couldn't help grabbing Naruto by the arm and keeping him close. A lot of items were booby-trapped and he didn't trust Naruto to be responsible enough to keep his hands to himself.

Naruto seemed just as interested in the seals used to protect the Uchiha vault just as much as the vault's contents. "Wow, look at the pattern on these seals. They must be hundreds of years old, maybe as old as the founding of Konoha. After Hashirama married Mito Uzumaki a lot of Konoha's seals followed Uzushio's sleek design but this is… not sloppy, but intentionally wild."

"Naruto!"

Sasuke was too late. Naruto's hand landed on the seal fascinated – like a little kid who just had to press a button to see what it would do. An explosion shook the room, knocking both of them off of their feet. When they looked back, the entrance was entirely caved in.

"Aren't you a fuuinjutsu expert? Even I could tell you do not touch!" Sasuke snapped and wrestled against Naruto as they both tried to wrangle into a sitting position. At least this idiot had the hiraishin to get them out of there.

"Yeah but didn't you see the force of that explosion? It manipulates chakra in a different way than I'm used to. That was awesome."

Sasuke shoved Naruto once more time before getting up. Naruto flopped his hand in the air expectantly but Sasuke crossed his arms. "Oh come on, I'm sorry and I might be a little tipsy."

"A little?" Sasuke has gradually built his tolerance because of Sakura but Naruto remained a light weight. Sasuke reached and pulled Naruto up by the hand.

Naruto raised his hands innocently. "No more touching, promise. I cross my heart and hope too die." Naruto crossed his chest and locked away the key like one of his kids would do. Sometimes Sasuke wondered if having kids made Naruto seem even more childlike as he often adopted some of their mannerisms. "Come on, give me the tour."

Sasuke led Naruto around the vault and pointed out several items of importance. There were whole suits of armor and weapons mounted to the walls from a period far before the founding of Konoha. Sasuke motioned toward rows and rows of bookshelves of scrolls. "That's all the Uchiha techniques. This is the recipe for our fire balm and also our clan food pill."

Sasuke took a large scroll from the shelf. Now that he was down here he remembered he needed to go through the Uchiha sharingan history to see if any matched Tomu's current abilities with the mangekyou.

"Have you ever thought of maybe donating this stuff to the library?" Naruto suggested. "It's not helping anyone sitting down here."

Most of it Sasuke could. Konoha's medical department could use the recipe for balms and ninja in general could use the secrets to how Uchiha train with fire jutsu but it meant he had to go through everything and sort out the stuff that no one really needed to see and that was a tedious and heart heavy venture.

Sasuke pointed out a document encased in glass and warding seals. "Uchiha Senbei Secret Recipe."

"Holy fuck," Naruto said. The directions were blurry if he tried to peer through the glass. Sasuke himself couldn't actually open it without a sharingan.

"Aunt Kasuri was intense," Sasuke said flatly. He remembered her body had been found near the shrine, as if she was trying to hide her secret recipe before it was too late. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised. The woman would knife a Hokage in the back to protect her recipe.

"You know Sasuke, I'm one hundred percent behind this senbei shop now. It's not as good as ramen but who doesn't love rice cakes?"

Sasuke shook his head at the suggestion to actually take the joke seriously. Sasuke moved to the case of stored alcohol and brought out a flask of sake that probably should not be open unless Kami was descending to earth. They settled comfortably between a stack of bookshelves with the bottle of spirits between them.

Naruto took a whiff toward the bottle. "Holy shit, how old is this thing?"

Sasuke showed Naruto the masu. They should have been covered in dust and rotting but there were seals to preserve them. "They say this is the masu Hashirama and Madara drank out of when they settled the agreement to build Konoha."

"Are you sure we should be using this stuff?"

Sasuke shrugged. There was no one to stop him. His family was dead. They died and left all of this history and knowledge behind. Perhaps Naruto was right. It was a waste to let it all just sit here.

Sasuke poured the hundreds of year old sake into the masu that legends had once drank out of.

Both men took a drink at the same time and coughed equally as hard, almost spitting it out. Naruto knocked his arm against a bookshelf and a large scroll dropped down atop Sasuke's foot. He was about to snap at Naruto to be more careful when his eyes froze at what exactly the scroll was.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"My mom's summoning scroll," Sasuke said softly. They weren't even in the section with the family summoning scrolls, including Itachi's Crow, were located. How did it get here? Sasuke didn't let it show how unsettled he was.

"What animal is it?"

"The Cat."

"Oh I get it, that's why the Uchiha have a cat thing." Naruto said as he took another sip, more carefully this time. "Ooh, Sasuke you should sign it," Naruto said as if it was the brightest idea he had ever come up with.

"No."

"Why not? ANBU weren't able to recover your Hawk scroll. Who knows where that thing is. And Orochimaru has his snakes. You could use a summons."

"No."

"Seriously, Sasuke why not?"

Sasuke hid his face behind the masu box and drank until the sake had warmed the chill of goosebumps along his skin. He balanced the masu on his leg and then dropped his forehead against Naruto's shoulder. "They'd be ashamed of me."

Naruto stopped pressuring him.

Naruto was so used to curling into the warmth of his children that his body instinctively shifted to better accommodate Sasuke and the small space. He dropped his cheek against Sasuke's hair and closed his eyes, almost entering sage mode without even noticing and bathing in the soft fragile moment.

Several minutes later, or hours – Naruto often lose the time in sage mode – Naruto nudged Sasuke. "I think your clan would be proud of you."

The movement jolted Sasuke's head off Naruto's shoulder. Sasuke poured the both of them another portion of sake from the flask in jilted movements. After he forced down the drink that should probably be savored, Sasuke shook his head.

"No. I am the end."

"That's not fair. You'd shouldn't have to carry the legacy of an entire clan on your shoulders alone. Your clan ended during the massacre. It was partially their fault, partially Itachi, partially Konoha's, and a whole lot of Danzou. You can't put the extinction of your entire clan on you."

Sasuke hated himself but he couldn't control these vulnerable moments when everything just seemed so overwhelming. And the alcohol wasn't helping. Tears were encroaching on the edge of his awareness. He quickly huddled into his knees to force the tears back.

Sasuke's head shot up and the crinkle of paper. Naruto had reached forward and carefully spread out the summoning scroll. The list of the Uchiha to have signed this scroll was long.

Some of the names Sasuke recognized. Some of the names he had only heard stories about Madara's younger brother Izuna had signed this scroll. It dated back to even further than the Warring States, back to a time when the demon and human world was once one. There was so much history here, a much more genuine history than what was found on the stone tablet. Because he was the last, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to forsake all those they came before him.

He never mentioned that to Tenten – that being a part of a clan was not only a responsibility to the living but also to the dead.

"I'm not ready. Maybe someday."

Then Naruto issued a challenge. "If we beat Orochimaru, you'll sign the scroll."

After careful consideration, Sasuke finally decided, "I'll sign the scroll."

With a grin, Naruto carefully rolled up the scroll and placed it in Sasuke's lap so he didn't forget it in all the dust. In an easier silence, they enjoyed the rest of the sake and was most certainly drunk by the time it was empty.

Usually when Naruto was drunk he was hyperactive and couldn't sit still but this time Naruto curled into Sasuke like a cat and literally dropped his head into Sasuke's lap. Sasuke drooped against Naruto's back with a yawn.

In a sleepy mumble, Naruto asked, "you be Hima's godfather?"

"Finally drunk enough to say yes," Sasuke mumbled in turn.

And right before Sasuke fell asleep, he could have sworn he felt hands caressing his cheek. He thought it was Naruto being drunk but much later after they woke up and stumbled out in the afternoon sun, he would remember gentle fingers wiping a tear away from his cheek.

And the maple-honey scent of his mother.

* * *

Tomu looked over his cards, eyed Hohei once, then back towards Sasuke, and then claimed, "Go Fish!"

"This game is stupid," Sasuke snapped as he pulled another card from the pile. How did he have so many cards? And he swore the Hyuuga was cheating. "There's no skill involved at all. Why can't we play shogi?"

Tomu sighed. They've already been over this. "Shogi is a two-person game and I suck at it."

Hohei asked for Tomu's last card. There were no more cards in the pile. Sasuke watched as they added up their pairs. He only had one. "This game is stupid."

"Yeah, you've said that a thousand times." Tomu said and grinned at his win. "Hold on, let me run to the bathroom before the next round," Tomu said as he got up and handed the cards to Hohei to shuffle.

Sasuke got up to grab more beer from the refrigerator.

Hohei shuffled the cards and activated his byakugan out of boredom. It was a regular habit Hohei did in timed intervals to make sure nothing was going on. Hohei froze and swiveled his head toward the Hyuuga compound.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked as he popped the top of his beer with a kunai. Sasuke wasn't too concerned. If it was an emergency Hohei wouldn't still be shuffling the cards.

"Hinata-sama is going into labor."

"About time," Tomu said as he grabbed his beer from Sasuke and roughly sat back down in the chair. "All this baby talk has been giving me a headache. I mean really, I'm happy for Naruto but Boruto is a handful."

"We shouldn't be there?" Sasuke asked uncertainly. Both Hohei and Tomu looked at Sasuke as if he was crazy. Sasuke had never been a godfather before and did not know the correct protocol.

"Sakura is already there and there are plenty of midwives at the compound. We'd just be in the way." Hohei shrugged. Hohei shuffled out the cards, not the least bit concerned his presence might be requested. Both Tomu and Hohei seemed content to be as far away as possible. Sasuke followed their lead.

Hohei said coolly to no one in particular, "We really should get you dating again."

"Don't make me kick you in the dick," Tomu snapped before hiding his face behind his cards.

"Mushi wouldn't want you moping for the rest of your life," Hohei said.

"I know what Mushi would have wanted." Tomu side-eyed his best friend as if considering whether or not he should poke Hohei's eyes out with a goldfish card. Tomu sighed and chewed on his anger for a moment before saying, "I'm nowhere near ready for that yet."

"When you're ready," Sasuke interrupted and asked Hohei for his card. Hohei begrudgingly turned it over.

Sasuke knew Tomu had been on edge lately. It served as a reminder that Tomu had almost been a father once. It was no wonder why Tomu chose to distance himself lately. It was partly why Sasuke had initiated this week's game night. Game night wasn't a tradition yet but it happened two or three times a month if Hohei wasn't out on a mission and Tomu wasn't swamped with work.

"How about we talk about your social life?" Tomu snarked back. "Don't think I haven't noticed you've been two-timing my cousin."

"It's not like that," Hohei said defensively. Tomu knew it wasn't like that but he was desperate for a change of subject or better yet, giving Hohei a taste of his own medicine.

"And I thought you stopped with Tenten. I don't get it. You're on and off with her. I said it was a bad idea during the war and I still think it is. Tenten has never put anything or anyone above her career."

"People change," Sasuke interjected. From what Sasuke had learned of Tenten during the months of working together, he wouldn't describe Tenten as selfishly ambitious. He didn't know who she had been during the intervening years but now Tenten was established and happy and perhaps looking for something more.

"It would be easier if they didn't," Hohei grumbled. He reached over and collected a card from Sasuke to create a pair. "Since we're all going around the table sharing, how about Sasuke and his recent moping?"

"I'm always moping."

"Only when Naruto isn't in the compound."

Utterly surprising Sasuke, Tomu looked up from his cards and corrected Hohei, "He's not moping. He's _pining_."

The table went up flames. Sasuke looked at the sudden bonfire with an impossible stare and shrugged helplessly, as if saying, 'I have no idea who did that.'

"Come on!" Tomu complained. "This is the second set of goldfish cards you've _incinerated_."

Hohei extinguished the flame with a water jutsu. The table was charred. Most of the cards hadn't survived. Hohei carefully nudged Sasuke's shin with his foot, silently asking if they had crossed a line. Sasuke lifted an eyebrow. Sasuke and his _fragile_ feelings could handle a little bit of ribbing on game night.

Besides, he was dying for a reason to burn those cards. Sasuke suggested. "Poker?"

Tomu squinted at him and silently mouthed, 'I'm onto you.'

They played several rounds of poker before Hohei suddenly said, "They want us at the compound. We need to collect Ame. Ichigo is already there."

"I'll go get her," Tomu said as he stood up from the table and disappeared in a blink of the eye.

Sasuke got up to retrieve an orange gift-wrapped present from his closet. Hohei didn't ask any questions when he saw it. He simply activated his byakugan and started laughing. Sasuke hit the cheater in the head and then waited for Tomu and Ame.

"What's that?" Ame asked when she saw the present.

"Naruto said I had to bring a present." Sasuke tucked the box protectively underneath his arm. He could see the curiosity gnawing at Ame's insides.

They hiraishined to the Hyuuga compound. They were led through the hallways and met Sakura who had just finished disposing of the clothes she had worn at the birth. Sakura put a finger to her lips in warning and opened the door.

Hinata was lying in bed with a small bundle in her arms. Naruto looked at them with a grin that could have been mistaken for the sun. His happiness was a physical thing that overwhelmed the room. Ame screeched in excitement and ran forward to look at the baby. Ichigo was already sitting on a chair in the corner.

Sasuke noticed the pained expression on Tomu's face and elected to stand back with him as Ame cooed all over the baby. Naruto came over to them and without hesitation shoved Tomu into his arms where Tomu broke down into sobs.

"You don't have to be here," Naruto whispered to him softly.

Tomu wiped at snot with his arm. "No, I'm okay. I want to see her."

Naruto wrapped an around Tomu's shoulder in support and slowly drew him near the bed. Tomu's expression softened and then hit Naruto with a smile. "You did good, Nii-san."

Then Himawari yawned and the force of it suddenly woke her up. Almost everyone in the room was taken aback at the sight of sky blue eyes, the exact match of Naruto's. Tomu asked nervously, "She doesn't have the byakugan?"

"No," Hinata explained softly. "There are chakra nodes around her eyes that don't exist in the average individual. I suspect she will awaken it, much like a Uchiha awakens the sharingan. It used to be the way before the Warring States when the elders decided to purify the bloodline."

"And I'll just create a seal that camouflages them pupil-less," Naruto said unconcerned.

"She's beautiful," Tomu cooed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. She was kind of ugly and red in Sasuke's opinion. Perhaps she'll grow out of it.

Naruto laughed and shuffled Tomu's hair.

"Is that a present?" Hinata suddenly asked. She looked tired but her eyes were sharp and didn't miss anything in the room. Now that Hinata pointed it out, Sasuke looked down at the present dumbly.

"You brought a present?" Naruto echoed.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto angrily. "You told me to bring a present."

"What? No, I didn't."

"You said that a godfather should bring presents on their birthday," Sasuke said frustrated. He could see the gears turn in Naruto's head.

"Oh, I guess this does count as her birthday."

"Baka."

"Hey, my kid is right here." Naruto pouted. Sasuke scoffed. Sasuke certainly wasn't the one that needed to work on not cursing in front of the kids.

Naruto grabbed the present out of Sasuke's hands and waggled his eyebrows at Sasuke when he noted the color of the gift-wrapping. He tore away the glittering orange, looked inside, then threw back his head in a hysterical laugh.

It was a onesie with the Uchiha Clan fan stitched on the back of it.

Naruto didn't know what was funnier: the fact that Hinata would probably burn it if she ever got her hands on it or the idea of Sasuke crouched over this damn onesie stitching a red and white fan on the back.

"What is it?" Hinata asked, annoyed by her lack of sight. She was unable to use her byakugan so soon after childbirth to avoid further stress on her body. Naruto pulled it out of the box and everyone in the room laughed at the sour look Hinata gave it.

The laughter startled Himawari and she began to wail at the top of her lungs. With present delivered, it was at this time, Sasuke decided to back up and leave. He shared a look with Tomu, who nodded in return.

"We'll let you guys have some time together. Rest up," Tomu said and the two Uchiha men slid from the room.

"You alright?" Sasuke asked as they stepped outside the compound gate. There was a chill in the air as winter threatened to come early this year but it was still cool enough to enjoy the walk home.

"Yeah," Tomu said softly and bumped his shoulder against Sasuke's. "I'm good."

* * *

"You have to leave sometime," Hinata whispered between the small space between her and Naruto as they curled around their newborn in bed.

The words were unwanted but necessary. For the very first time since Himawari was born, Naruto frowned. He refused to move from the awe-inspiring sight of watching Hima suck from Hinata's tit. Boruto had stayed with Hinata until he stopped breastfeeding and then he was adopted through the Uzumaki clan. For the first year of life, no one knew Boruto existed but the Hyuuga Clan. It was harder to leave this time knowing that in the end Hima wouldn't be coming with him. He wanted to stretch the moments he had with her as much as possible – and he was stretching, the Hokage had literally taken a two-week long vacation with Tsunade to luckily fill in for him.

He knew he had to return to the outside world and back to the compound where his other kids were waiting on him to emerge from his self-isolation. They could sense his absence no matter how much he tried to fill the hole with shadow clones.

When Hima was finished feeding, Naruto cradled her in his arms and burped her against his shoulder. His cheek nuzzled the two scars that crossed hers. She fell asleep first, and then burped in her sleep.

Naruto wanted to stay. He wanted nothing more in this world than to stay here with Hinata and Hima. Or bring Himawari with him but he couldn't take her from her mother. He'd never have the strength to do that - not when Hinata had the strength to give up Boruto first.

Naruto tucked Himawari into her mother's arms, placed a kiss on Hima's forehead and another on Hinata's familiar lips. He lingered there for a moment and felt his heart breaking.

Naruto returned home, listless, and empty. He hasn't felt this way since the first time Tsunade offered him an ANBU mask – at a time when he was lost, confused, and desperately trying to find himself after the Fourth Shinobi War.

Thankfully, it was deep in the night and the kids were already asleep. He felt too raw to interact with any of them right now. They were smart kids and would immediately perceive something was wrong. He didn't want to worry them. When he entered the house he wasn't surprised to find that Ichigo was the only awake, tucked on the couch, reading a library book.

Ichigo was a different than the others. Naruto walked over and literally dropped down on top of his son. Ichigo didn't even react until he finished reading the page he was on, then they shifted until both of them were more comfortable.

While Ichigo read, Naruto took the time to digest the alarming emotions swarming him. He figured it out two hours later after Ichigo fell asleep on his forearm.

He wasn't happy.

* * *

The next day, Naruto could have returned to work and relieved Tsunade. Instead he took all of the kids, even pulled the ninja-in-training out of the academy, and went skiing in Snow Country.

Later that night, after the kids were put to bed, Naruto returned to the Hyuuga compound. Hinata immediately handed over Himawari. Naruto had come just in time to change her diaper. Hinata left for the shower while Naruto played and put Himawari to sleep.

Hinata was dressed in her pajamas when she returned and slipped into bed. Naruto remembered the days when they were caring for Boruto. Taking care of a newborn was just as tiring as an ANBU mission. They would fall asleep in bed together and take turns getting up to take care of Boruto when he woke every few hours.

Hinata outstretched her hand and beckoned Naruto to bed. It was their routine and there was no reason for Hinata to suspect that tonight would be any different.

"I'm not staying." It took every ounce of strength in him just to say those words. He had no idea how he was supposed to turn around and face her. He could feel Hinata's eyes at his back, studying him, probably studying him from his lungs to his beating heart.

Naruto felt like a dick. This woman just had his child. "I know it's not fair. I'm the one who asked for her. But I can't do this anymore. I can't compromise anymore."

"Naruto." Just the way she said his name almost buckled him to his knees. It was the way she said his name during their first time. The way she left afterwards was probably the first clue that this was never going to work out. It was the way she said his name before they fell asleep. Then he had to return to his own compound and to his own bed in the morning. It was the way she said his name in the brief moments of respite they had during the war, curled in each other arms, when Naruto believed that he could never deserve someone so perfect.

"What's wrong with what we have? It works."

Naruto clenched his jaw and turned from the crib. He turned away from the daughter who was conceived of love but whose birth finally revealed that all of this was crumbling down. Hinata was sitting up in bed and even now with tired bags under her eyes and stomach still round from childbirth, he never once stopped believing that she was the most beautiful person in the world.

"It doesn't work. It never _worked_. All we've been doing is ignoring it."

"This is enough."

"No, it's not. Divorce Neji, bring Himawari home to me, and be a mother to Boruto. I want to wake up to you every morning. I want to fix you breakfast. I want you to have my last name."

Hinata turned with a distant stare toward the wall but her byakugan wasn't active and yet it was as if she was looking all the way toward Cloud Country. She pressed her lips together in silent thought and then said in a soft crumbling whisper. I'm sorry."

Her easy acceptance infuriated Naruto. "You're not even going to fight for this?! For Boruto? For me? So our daughter can have her father in her life?"

"What am I supposed to say Naruto?! I can't give you what you want. You know I can't give you those things. We went into this relationship with eyes open and knowledge of our limitations. You do deserve better and I don't blame you for wanting those things. It hurts and I will always love you but I refuse to keep you in a situation where you are unhappy."

And those words just completely broke him. She _loved_ him. They loved each other so fucking much and yet they couldn't make this work.

"We're over?"

Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki had finally reached their end.

"We're over."

* * *

"I'm worried," Sasuke said frankly as he sipped coffee with Sakura on her couch. Tomu didn't seem too concerned but Sasuke was getting anxious. Naruto hasn't showered in three days.

"It'll blow over." Sakura shrugged. "It's how he tends to deal with heartbreak. You should have seen him the first time Hinata broke up with him or after Shion died."

The coffee's heat pressed steam against Sasuke's face. Across from him, Sakura was curled into her favorite armchair with pillows arranged, one under her legs and another behind her, just the way she liked them. Sakura had decided to take a day off from work because she had hit a wall developing a vaccine for cholera. Her project was already getting a lot of attention in medical journals because of its potential benefit for both the ninja and civilian world.

"What happened with Shion?" Sasuke asked. Naruto never brought it up and the rest of Konoha only knew rumors. He felt certain that Sakura would know the truth.

Sakura winced at the question. Her manicured nails tapped against her coffee mug with the logo of Konoha's Hospital across it. "Naruto and Shion married for political reasons. Konoha needed Demon Country's money for the war and one of their conditions was Naruto's first-born daughter to groom her to be the next Demon Priestess. After the war ended, Naruto was Hokage and he pretty much decided Konoha was strong enough to go back on its deal with Demon Country. He didn't want to give up his daughter and told Shion as much. They argued. And then, after Naruto left the room, Shion jumped out the window. The war had ended but the months afterwards were tough. I think building the orphanage and focusing on getting it operational is the only thing that got Naruto through it."

Sakura finished off the last of her coffee but continued to hold the empty mug. "I was rooting for Hinata and Naruto. It wasn't the traditional sort of relationship but Hinata is a far cry better than Shion. I'm still surprised they've broken up. I thought they were going to be forever or maybe that's the romantic in me."

Sauske couldn't believe Tomu had called it months ago. It still floored him how perceptive Tomu could be even by Uchiha standards. Sasuke knew they were having problems but he figured the baby had fixed them. Naruto had been so happy. He frankly didn't understand.

"Do you think she broke up with him because of you?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura taken aback. "Why would she break up with him because of me?"

"I thought you two were getting closer."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at what Sakura was implying. "Naruto is not interested in me that way. He made that quite clear and I have attempted to respect his boundaries. I don't want to push him away again."

"Whatever, I'm calling it. In two to three years, you two are so going to be fucking."

Sasuke frowned because apparently Sakura didn't understand the fact that Naruto wasn't interested.

"Oh Kami, Sasuke. This is Naruto. He's all emotion. He falls in love and nothing else matters. The logic of it all catches up with him later. That's how he got in this mess with Hinata in the first place."

Then Sasuke asked self-consciously, "Do you really think Hinata broke up with him because of me?"

Even if there was nothing there, Sakura had seen something, and Hinata could have too. What if Naruto was angry at him? What if he had made another fucking mistake?

"I don't know," Sakura said honestly. "In any case, by the end of the week, we'll drag Naruto out of bed ourselves."

"I was wondering who my wife has been gossiping with."

Sasuke looked up to see the man from the pictures. If Sakura was going for looks, Sasuke could see why she had chosen him. He had a type of every-day charm about him as he came down the stairs. Sakura lifted her head and Kohei planted a kiss on her lips with an ease and familiarity of doing the gesture every day.

"I don't think I've ever properly introduced you two. This is my husband, Kohei and this is Sasuke. We used to be genin teammates."

Kohei walked over without reservation and shook Sasuke's hand. Then Kohei paused as if the thought just hit him. "Wait, that Sasuke?"

"Ninja stuff."

"Ah," Kohei said and gave Sakura a wry and amused smile. "A messenger bird just landed on the windowsill. Evidently the twins are in trouble again."

Sakura groaned and tossed her head back. "What is it this time?"

"The Late Daimyo's wife is in town. They stole her cat.

"Not again." Sakura looked over at Sasuke to explain. "Sasu wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up."

"And Sai wants to be a movie star. Personally I think he'll be perfect for the role of partner in crime," Kohei chirped cheerfully, and then gave a helpless shrug. "I'm headed to the Kage Tower to bail them out."

Sakura gave a wicked grin. "No, not yet. Tsunade is filling in for Naruto right now. She's probably yelling at them as we speak. They need to learn not to steal other people's pets."

"Maybe if we give in and finally get a dog."

"No, we're not rewarding bad behavior, Kohei," Sakura chided as if they had this conversation a thousand times. "Besides, I'm not cleaning dog poop off the floor. That's what their sleepovers with Grandma are for."

Kohei paused in thought and suggested. "Let's go grab lunch then. Sasuke, you're welcome to join us."

"Great idea, I've been wanting to try that new sushi place that the Akimichi turned over. I've been hearing stories about the owner's new avant-garde approach to sushi." Sakura nudged Kohei with her foot. He caught her toes and wiggled them.

"Let me go grab my wallet."

After Kohei had raced back upstairs, Sasuke turned to Sakura and said, "He fits you."

Sakura blinked at the unexpected compliment. She thought Sasuke would criticize and demean him like Naruto had done when they first met. Sakura licked her lips where the fading taste of her husband was still on her lips.

"You're happy?"

Kohei was a good dad to her two rambunctious kids. Even though she could crush mountains with her bare hands and Kohei didn't have an ounce of chakra in his veins, he was the only person the kids listened to without question. Kohei massaged her feet after a long day at work. The sex was comfortable and soft and gentle. But most importantly, she didn't have to worry every second of the day that a kunai would stab him in the back.

"Yeah, I'm happy."

* * *

"Sakura," Naruto whined as Sakura grabbed his ankle and dragged him out the pillow fort the kids had apparently built around Naruto until it took up the entire room.

Naruto smelled stale and it was obvious Naruto's hadn't shaved in a week. Stickers clung to Naruto's uneven beard. There were empty tubs of ice cream, chocolate wrappers, and empty cheap ramen cups strewn across the floor. Sakura sincerely hope the kids haven't been eating ice cream, chocolate, and ramen every day for dinner.

No wonder why Sasuke was worried.

Luckily, Sakura already had the shower running. "Do you want me to strip you of your clothes or can you do it yourself?"

"Leave me alone," Naruto moaned when his cheek hit the cold tile of the bathroom. There was a gaggle of laughter from the door where children were poking their heads into the room.

"Guess I'll do it." Sakura caught a quick grip on the end of his pajama pants and stripped them neatly away. Because of course Naruto didn't sleep with any boxers on, it was easy to shove him into the shower and slam the glass pane shut.

Sakura sat on the toilet seat and painted her nails. Usually, Ame had become the one to pull Naruto out of bed when Naruto's languish had gone on long enough but unfortunately Ame has been away on a mission.

When Naruto came out of the shower, Sakura didn't even look up as she held out a towel for him. Naruto snatched it and covered his waist while he dripped water all over the floor. He brushed his teeth, shaved, and cleaned his face.

"I've already packed your backpack."

"Wait, where are we going?" Naruto asked her perplexed.

"Does it matter? You don't have a choice. Hurry up and get some clothes on." Sakura blew across her fingertips to dry the pink gloss.

Naruto knew at this point not to argue with her. He finally got dressed in something other than his pajamas. He chose casual clothes because he doubted the thing Sakura had him doing today involved a day in the office. Thankfully Tsunade was still covering for him. As he put on his shoes, he asked embarrassed, "How long was I out?"

"A week," Sakura answered.

It was all rather embarrassing. The kids made him breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed. They brought him flowers and read him bedtime stories. They pitched the covers, created a huge fort, and Naruto surrounded himself with his kids while the crack in his heart tried not to hurt so much. But it did.

"Camping, Sakura, really?" Naruto asked as he hiked after Sasuke and Sakura.

"Just think of it as a team-building exercise. If we're going to defeat Orochimaru then Team Seven has got to strengthen our bonds. And we're all stuck inside of Konoha all the time anyways. It'll be nice to get some fresh air."

Naruto pointed at Sasuke. "He's not supposed to be outside of Konoha, especially not without a mask on!"

"But you're here. Think of it as Hokage supervision," Sakura reasoned as they crested the hill and the forests of Fire Country stretched to the horizon. All three ninja knew there was a winding river a few miles out. Without even communicating with each other, each headed in that direction.

Naruto was sullen and resistant during the entire hike. Sasuke was a typically quiet individual but not around Naruto. It made the silence all the more deafening. Sakura sighed.

She drew close to Sasuke and elbowed him in the side. "Do you guys' thing."

"What?"

"You know, rile him up, bicker, and argue. Distract his attention."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, but when he opened his mouth to fling an insult he immediately stopped. He was still conscious of that fact that Sakura might have been right. What if Hinata had broken up with Naruto because they were closer? Sasuke bowed his head, hunched his shoulders, and walked further ahead, leaving Sakura stuck in the middle.

Sakura groaned. She always felt stuck in the middle.

* * *

They camped at the river. Sakura had brought instant ramen and it immediately caught Naruto's attention. Naruto scooted closer to the crackling fire while he waited for the water to boil. They ate in silence.

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to fix it all.

It was while they were eating ramen when Naruto suddenly whined, "It's not fair. You idiotically and naively believe that love lasts forever. That no matter what, you'll get through anything, that it'll be _enough_." Beyond the firelight, Sakura could see as Naruto's shoulders hunched. "I mean fuck Sakura, you didn't love Kohei when you married him and everything is happily ever after for you."

Sakura gritted her teeth and decided to let Naruto get away with that one because he was so distraught. "It's true I didn't love Kohei when I first married him but I've learned to love him. It works out sometimes."

"And sometimes it fucking hurts and rips out your heart and stomps all over you," Naruto hissed bitterly.

Then Sasuke said, "At least she's not dead." Sakura gave him a mortified expression. Sasuke only shrugged. "Goodbye is better than dead."

Naruto hung his head ashamed because Sasuke spoke the truth. In their occupation, death was the highest outcome. Hinata was alive and breathing and dammit, he wanted her to be happy too. Naruto heaved a great sigh and fell sideways to the ground with an empty cup of ramen cradled in his arm.

Sakura cautiously asked, "What happened? Why did she break up with you?"

"I broke up with her."

"Oh," Sakura was more than taken aback by it. "But you two just had a baby."

"A baby wasn't going to fix our problems." Naruto blew out a long-suffering breath. "I love her, Sakura. I love her so much it hurts but I need one hundred percent. I didn't have a choice in losing my parents and I've had to make the best of it. I didn't have a choice to have the Kyuubi placed inside me and I've had to make the best of it. But I have a choice in the person who I spend the rest of my life with and I don't want to make the best of."

Sakura put down her noodle cup and scooted closer to Naruto. She hunched over him like a protective elder sister and gently combed her fingers through his hair. "You deserve the best, Naruto."

"But do I really?" Naruto questioned. "I look back on everything and consider that maybe it's me that has changed. In the beginning, I could not have hoped to be worthy of Hinata. Then along the way I began to think that we're perfect for each other. And now, I feel that I do deserve more than snatches of perfect moments. I deserve more than watching my son grow up not knowing who his mother is. I deserve more than not being able to be there for every perfect moment of my daughter's life. I deserve more. And is that selfish of me? What right do I have to determine that I Naruto Uzumaki, killer of thousands, deserve to be happy at all? What right do I have?"

Sakura didn't have answers to his questions so she continued to give him comfort in her touch.

It was Sasuke who spoke up.

"Do you know what your problem is?" Sasuke asked with a frown. "You try to be a hero all the damn time. You try to be there for your kids, and for the village, and for the woman you love while never getting anything for yourself. It's alright to be fucking selfish sometimes."

Naruto pouted. "Excuse me, Sasuke, if I take your love advice with a grain of salt."

"No, he's right." Sakura cupped her hands on both of Naruto's cheeks and turned him to face her. "I'm proud of you. I'm proud that you decided not to stay in a relationship that made you unhappy. Because the Naruto back when we were kids would have kept chasing until he was hurt and broken. Because that Naruto had such low self-esteem that he would have accepted any love offered him no matter how toxic it was. You are worth more, never doubt that."

Naruto turned and hid his face against her stomach. Sasuke turned away and hid his face behind the campfire.

"You know, I would have never married Kohei if I hadn't decided to do what was best for me. I could still be pursuing Sasuke, knocked up with his kid, stuck at home as a housewife, and miserable. But I'm better than that. No offense, Sasuke."

"None taken."

"But what if there isn't anything better?" Naruto mumbled terrified. "What if Hinata was the best I could ever have and I just fucked it all up? She was the one, Sakura. She was supposed to be the one."

"I don't know if I believe in 'the one,'" Sakura hedge carefully. "I mean, what if your soulmate dies before you ever meet them? Are you just fucked forever? It can't just be _one_ person. Maybe there's just a person that is perfect for you in a certain situation at a certain time. Maybe it's just the world we live in and the person writing our stories. Maybe it's our decisions and our choices. I mean really Naruto, is it so hard to imagine how easily it could have been you and I? Perhaps there are an endless number of combinations but only one is perfect for your given situation at any given time."

Then Sasuke had to go and say, "I believe in soulmates."

Sakura tossed him a glare.

"Do you know what's worse?" Naruto mumbled. "Hinata let me go because she _loved_ me. It's startling and fucking depressing to realize that love isn't enough."

"Alright, Naruto, this self-pity isn't solving anything. Let's consider the next step. What kind of person do you want to spend the rest of your life with?" Sakura asked.

Sakura's question was the first push Naruto needed out of his pit of heartbreak. It was the first time he's allowed himself to begin thinking about what's next. "She has to love the kids. And the kids have to love her," Then he moaned, "I should have listened when Ame told me she didn't like Hinata."

"You have a lot of kids Naruto," Sakura said uncertainly. "That might scare a lot of people away."

"I know," Naruto said with a sigh. "And she should want to marry me - but maybe a kunoichi because she's going to need to be strong enough to handle the political pressure of being my wife. And we need to agree on how to parent the children. That was the biggest issue between Shion and I."

"What about you Naruto? What are your needs?"

"I just want someone to love me," Naruto said, suddenly feeling very small and seeming so.

"But that isn't enough is it?" Sakura nudged softly.

Naruto shook his head slowly and tried to talk it out to find his truth. "I hate to admit this, but, without the Kyuubi it gets lonely sometimes. For the most part, I've lived with the Kyuubi always in my ear, always a constant malevolent presence, but at least I wasn't alone. Now that I've locked him away all the moments when I'm by myself is so much more pronounced. It's at those times I want to reach out to Hinata but she's so busy with clan stuff. And I get that she's busy. Normal people can't be in a hundred places at the same time like I can. I guess what I'm saying is, I want someone who'll have time for me. I want someone who can be a consistent positive presence in my life."

That's what Hinata couldn't provide for him. That's what he wanted.

"Maybe in a few months or so we'll get you dating again. We'll find someone for you."

Naruto groaned.

"Do you know what Konoha would do if I started actively dating?" Naruto pressed the palm of his hands against his eyes. "I'm exhausted just thinking about it."

"We'll take it one step at a time," Sakura encouraged.

Naruto yawned into Sakura's stomach. "Thank you for dragging my butt out of bed. The fresh air is nice."

"Anytime."

* * *

Sandayuu Momochi was undeniably a military man. He could point men in the right direction in any given battle. But he didn't have the ability to point men in the right direction on how to live. He watched the rain run through the streets from the same balcony that all those who once hoped to control Ame had once done. Momochi knew he had failed. The men who followed him no longer believed the lie he fed them. As civilians waged war with guns, as opportunists sucked anything of value from the streets, the truth began spreading as thick and cloying as mist - Ame could never be Kiri.

"If you don't act soon, you're going to die here."

He still felt the gunshot that barely missed him ghosting over his skin. Momochi has gained injuries of every type over the years of his military campaigns but none were as unsettling as the bullet from a civilian he hadn't even been paying attention to.

Sandayuu briskly left the balcony and closed the glass panes behind him. He sneered at the young man before him. He wore green hair twisted into a waterfall of braids down his torso and donned the traditional formal attire of a lost Country. The boy was as equally arrogant as the surname he chose to claim.

His flawed skin was an indicator of his inexperience in battle. Rumors said he leads his rebellion through charisma, and as Momochi learned from Demon Fox, that was the most dangerous kind of leader.

They call him Kusuro Hatake.

"You can get me into Konoha?" Sandayuu asked. He was determined to die fighting. He will wrangle the last of the men he had to attack Konoha once and for all. It would be the last death cries of a Kiri generation that had only known war.

"I have contacts," The Leader of the Grass Rebellion answered enigmatically. "With my forces, yours, and the funding from Demon Country, Fire Country should be ours for the taking."

Sandayuu moved to the map on the desk. The boy has spent six years raising a rebellion from the dirt. He didn't trust the youth but he didn't doubt his hatred of Konoha. Sandayuu asked, "What's your plan?"

"We'll attack during the Jounin Exams. Most of Konoha's forces will be occupied in the capital to make sure the exams go off without a hitch. We'll approach from the sea to the southeast. That's why I need your forces. They'll be least expecting an attack from this side."

It was an attack from the very shore Kiri had lost all those years ago. It was poetic. "Whether or not he has the Kyuubi, the Hokage will be tough to bring down. The moment he's informed about our forces he'll appear with that hiraishin technique of his."

"But he can't bring a whole army with him. I'll take care of the Hokage. You will continue to lead the forces to Konoha. That is my only condition in this alliance: Naruto is mine."

Honestly, Sandayuu didn't expect this kid to win anything against the Demon Fox but it might buy him enough time to get into Konoha. "They say you lived in the Uzumaki compound for a time. What's the layout?"

"Why?" Kusuro asked.

"In case you fail to take out the Hokage, I'm going to need leverage. My first targets of priority will be the Kage's Tower and the Uzumaki Compound."

"I thought you didn't hurt kids."

"You're not a child if you're wearing a hitai-ite. Not all of them are underage."

Sandayuu watched as Kusuro frowned and wondered if he still had any attachment to the village that had stolen his country. Kusuro twisted a ring woven out of grass on his finger in thought. Then Kusuro leaned over, his braids spilling out onto the table, and quickly sketched the layout of the Uzumaki compound including the usual areas where Naruto posted his shadow clones to guard.

They continued to meticulously plan their attack on Konoha. It took hours to reach an agreement on most of the details. As expected, Kusuro allowed Momochi to take the lead on most military matters and logistics of war.

When they were finished, Momochi had to make absolutely sure this child knew what he was getting himself into. "They say that you personally once knew the Demon Fox? I hope sentimentality doesn't interfere with your vendetta."

"Konoha stole my country. Konoha raped my mother and then killed her when she could no longer be controlled. Konoha tortured me. I have no sympathy for Konoha. I will see it laid to waste." Kusuro gave a stiff bow. "I look forward to sharing a battlefield."

The guards closed the door to the office when Kusuro left. Everywhere he looked, Kusuro was surrounded by Momochi's men. He longed to return home to the steppes of grass. His Secretary, Akiko, had waited for him in the lobby. She immediately walked at his side in solidarity. They were surrounded on all sides by strangers.

"Momochi is certainly the distrustful sort," Akiko snorted, offended by the fact no one was allowed into the office but Kusuro. "I can't believe it finally took this long for him to reply to your message."

"He knows he's losing Ame."

"I overheard." Akiko wriggled her fingers in reference to her jutsu. "Momochi is desperate."

They immediately locked themselves in the room Momochi had granted them for their visit. In the morning, they'll travel back to their hidden bunker in Grass Country.

"I hate this place," Akiko complained. "It's too humid, too wet, and-" an explosion sounded from outside, "-too loud."

"Just for tonight," Kusuro promised. He pulled Akiko by the waist against him, and then dragged his hands up to her breasts.

"Kusakage," Akiko whispered in his ear. "We're in enemy territory."

That didn't stop him from releasing her from her flak jacket. He needed home and the smells of Grass was on her skin. He fell easily between her legs. It was easy to pretend that they were back home on their woven grass mattress where the walls smelled of earth and herbs.

"You're right," Kusuro said after he lifted a kiss from her mouth. "This place is too humid-" Her bare legs were sticky with sweat, heat, and the moisture in the air. "Too wet-" He rolled his hips and punctuated the squelch between them. "Too loud-" Kusuro thrust hard and forced a moan from her lips. He quickened his speed until the explosions outside were drowned by the cry of his name.

They collapsed sweaty and spent into the bed. Finally, Kusuro could bring himself to sleep. "I love you," Kusuro mumbled against her neck.

"I love you too," Akiko whispered. She listened to the calming of their racing hearts and smiled at the way the leader of grass relaxed in comfort and trust against her.

Then Akiko turned over on her side. Shadows slid up her arms. They bubbled on the floor like deep pond water. She reached over and wrote a detailed note on the plan to attack Konoha. Before she entrusted the note to the shadows, she signed her name, 'Boar.'

* * *

_**Goodbye is better than dead.** _

* * *

**x**

* * *

 


	19. Relation Ships

"The Jounin Exams is in three months," The Hokage said frankly. "I would like to enter you into these exams, Tomu. The sharingan could act as a symbol of Konoha's renewed strength after the war."

"Are you sure you don't need me guarding the exams?" Tomu asked. He wasn't necessarily surprised that Naruto wanted him to participate but ANBU has been developing plans for the Jounin Exams since the moment it was announced that it would be held in the Capital. "There is no way Kuro no Keiyakusha is going to ignore such a high-profile event. Not to mention, the last Jounin Exams kickstarted the Fourth Shinobi War."

The Jounin Exams have already been pushed back several months because of the Civilian Uprising.

"You let me worry about that. I really need you in these exams, Tomu. At a time where our clients are facing the option of buying guns or hiring ninja, every ninja village needs to prove why we are still viable in this changing economy."

Entering a free-for-all competition to the death wasn't Tomu's idea of fun but he understood how tenuous these times were in an era of guns and gunpowder. "Fine."

Tomu looked over toward Sasuke who was brooding with his shoulder pressed against the window. Ice were beginning to crust at the edges of the frame. Sasuke's breath fogged the window as he spoke, "He's going to need to be able to control his Mangekyou."

"My thoughts exactly," Naruto agreed. "Sasuke will help you to prepare for these exams. Sasuke, do you think he'll be ready in three months?"

"I'll make sure he is." Sasuke knew he was going to have to drop everything and concentrate his full attention on Tomu in order to make the deadline.

"For the time being, Tomu, your responsibilities in ANBU are put on hold. I want you completely devote your time to training. I've already informed Captain Tiger of these new developments."

Tomu nodded perfunctorily. "Hokage-sama."

"You are dismissed. Sasuke, stay."

Tomu bowed and left the room.

Sasuke could already guess what this conversation would be about. Naruto swiveled around in his chair to face him. "No. Both you and Tomu are going to be in the capital for the Jounin Exams. I refuse to stay in Konoha."

"Sasuke, I know I needed you to confront the Shogun and I know I've taken you out with the Uzumaki Clan but this is too high-profile an event. You killed the Ichikage which has become more than mere rumor after you've blatantly used Oonoki's techniques in Ame. If Kurotsuchi should find out you're alive and Konoha has been harboring you, that's reason enough for war. Then I'd have to explain that you were on order from Iron Country which is enough for Earth Country to break the neutrality agreement. It justifies Earth Country launching an attack on Iron Country and they've been looking for an excuse to invade for years. Konoha will lose its leverage over Iron Country but most importantly, this world does not need an Earth Country bolstered by the wealth of Iron Country's ore.

And not to mention, you were the reason the former Raikage cut off his arm. Cloud Country doesn't like you either. I'm sorry, Sasuke, but this is too delicate a situation to bring you with me to the capital."

"I understand how important the Jounin Exams are. I'll be careful." Sasuke was an S-class ninja. He could keep his identity a secret if he cared enough to.

Naruto's face was obstinate and unyielding. Suddenly the truth of the matter hit Sasuke right in the gut.

"You don't trust me."

"I trust you with my life," Naruto said without pause. "But, I've been working so hard to maintain this peace and I'm hesitant to trust you with the lives of others. I'm sorry Sasuke but I'm the Hokage and I can't always bend because of personal attachments."

"What about Orochimaru?" Sasuke snapped. He was beginning to feel agitated and felt as if kindling was scratching at his skin. Logically, who could blame Naruto for not trusting him? But there was too much at stake here. "What if he attacks while you're in the capital? What if he's been waiting just for this moment when we're separated? I don't have the chakra capacity to hiraishin to you in the capital in case something goes wrong."

"Then I'll handle it."

"Like you handled it the last time Orochimaru put you in the hospital?" Sasuke was not budging on this. "No. I am going to be there in the capital with you and Tomu."

"This is bigger than just Orochimaru. Sasuke, not only do these Jounin Exams have to go off without a hitch but Momochi and Kusuro are planning to launch an invasion at the same time. You may not be able to go to the capital but there are still ways you can help."

"So the great Uzumaki Naruto can't do everything?" Sasuke snarked. "If you want my help with Momochi, then you take me to the capital."

"This isn't a negotiation. This is an order."

"The fuck I give, _Hokage-sama_."

Sometimes Naruto wondered if this was how Tsunade felt when constantly dealing with Naruto's own stubbornness. And Naruto knew that no matter how much he got Sasuke on his side, Sasuke would still be a disrespectful and arrogant asshole about it all. Out of frustration, Naruto shoved Sasuke out of a desperate need to make Sasuke budge even it was only physical.

Sasuke's back hit against the window with a darkened glower.

A minute later, the entire Kage's office was wrecked.

Naruto licked the blood from a cut lip and pulled himself out the wooden remains of his Kage's desk. The couch had burns across it and was still filling the office with smoke. A wind jutsu had gauged deep rivets into the wall and stolen scraps of Sasuke's shirt to litter the floor with bloody cloth. One of the bookshelves had toppled over. At one point, Sasuke had used a hardcover as a shuriken and left a large bruise on the side of Naruto's head. Luckily, Naruto could cover it with the Kage's hat. The window was cracked and leaking in cold winter air where Naruto had kicked Sasuke into it. Naruto's favorite rolling chair was hanging off the hinge, so instead he sat cross-legged on the ground.

The Hokage rubbed his eyes with a sigh.

* * *

"Alright, I'm done."

When Tomu shook his head, sweat dropped from his hair like rain and splattered across the frosted grass. He took deep breaths, expelling a cloud with each exhale, and leaned his weight on his knees. It hurt to inhale because of the vicious strike Sasuke had delivered just a few seconds ago. Even though it was cold as fuck outside his limbs were burning from the brutal spar.

"You're not done until I say we're done," Sasuke threatened and refused to release his offensive stance.

"No, we're fucking done," Tomu snapped. "This is nothing how you used train me. No. I refuse to be your punching bag for the next three months. Whatever the fuck is going on between you and Naruto, you will not take it out on me."

Tomu limped away to collapse on the rocking dinosaur of the playground. It creaked when he dropped his weight against the bright pink and speckled yellow neck. He hadn't even noticed that their spar pushed them all the way to the playground. They had torn up the fresh snowfall from that morning and turned the fields of the compound into broken grey sludge. Tomu closed his eyes and wished he had water but felt too tired to go and fetch it.

"This is not about Naruto," Sasuke said with crossed arms and all intimidating as he hovered over Tomu. But Tomu was not impressed. The younger male simply pushed off from the ground and swung back and forth much to Sasuke's annoyance.

Sasuke slapped a hand on top of the pink spiky hair and gave that glare he used whenever Naruto was acting immature.

Tomu pouted. "What was the point of today. How does beating me up help me control my Mangekyou?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "It was the warm-up."

"I should kick you in the dick and then tell you it was the warm-up." Tomu pushed more forcefully against the ground and shoved Sasuke's hand off. He closed his eyes and allowed the child's toy to sway him back and forth.

Sasuke shook his head at Tomu's theatrics.

Tomu heard him walk away as he rested on the plastic neck. He was almost sleep when something cold pushed against his cheek. Tomu peeked open an eye and gratefully received the bottled water Sasuke had pressed to his cheek.

Sasuke dusted off the snow and then sat in the bowl at the bottom of the slide. He took a drink from his own bottled water.

"Sometimes, it feels as if all you two do is fight," Tomu said over the head of his dinosaur. He lifted his legs and swung his feet up in the saddle of the plastic fox in mid-leap beside him.

"Hn," Sasuke answered despondently. Fighting was pretty much the bedrock of whatever friendship they had as children.

Sasuke suddenly tensed. He turned and looked behind the slide. A second later, he dragged Boruto from out a pile of snow. The toddler's nose was blue and he was sniffing into his large oversized coat.

"Boruto, what's wrong?" Tomu suddenly jolted up in concern.

"Rie wanted to make snow angels. But I want to make a snowman. I accidentally pushed her. And now she doesn't want to be my friend anymore," Boruto cried.

"You _accidentally_ pushed her?"

Boruto suddenly looked embarrassed. He squirmed and his coat slipped out of Sasuke's hand. Sasuke grunted as Boruto jumped up and curled into his lap.

"Sometimes Boruto you're going to get into fights with your friends. You should never push them though. What if Rie got hurt?"

"I didn't mean to," Boruto said in tears. "I was so mad!"

Tomu walked over and crouched down in front of Boruto and said diplomatically. "I'm sure she'll want to be your friend again if you go and apologize. And perhaps maybe next time, you can make both a snowman and snow angels."

"Or an angel snowman!" Boruto said with sudden excitement.

"Yeah kiddo, or an angel snowman," Tomu said, scratching his head a little. He's learned, especially with four-year olds and more so with Boruto, that Tomu's never quite sure if his point ever gets across. He finds that more often than not, he just ends up confusing himself in the end. Boruto flung snow everywhere with waving arms and raced off in the direction of the main house. Tomu looked up at Sasuke with a judgmental brow.

"Fine," Sasuke snapped. "Naruto and I are big ass children."

"Yes, sometimes you and Naruto can be big ass children to each other," Tomu agreed more accurately. "Look Sasuke, I'm guessing this fallout is about the capital. Both of you probably have really valid arguments. And what do you do when you're both right, refuse to listen to each other, and refuse to budge? You sit here miserable with me the one in between. I can't always be your mediator. And I'm not saying you should be the one to budge all the time but something has got to give before you two end up hurting each other irreparably."

"So what? I'm supposed to let you go to the capital and die?"

"No, I'm not going to die because you're going to spend the next three months training me to protect myself. And if something does happen in the capital, _it's not your fault_."

It was as if telling Sasuke that snow was pink – It was a lie so blatant he questioned your sanity.

"I'll be fine. Naruto will be fine. The worst doesn't always happen."

Sasuke looked across the playground. This used to be a clear field where he and his cousins used to challenge each other to catch the most fireflies in the summer. Beautiful cherry blossoms bloomed here in the spring and in the winter they would build snow forts and create a giant ice skating rink by melting the snow with a fire jutsu and watching it freeze overnight. There was a body here, right where the swing-set now stood, that Sasuke had to bury.

"Yes, it does."

Where all Sasuke saw was death, Tomu saw only life and how this playground would spill over with children in every corner. Tomu challenged, "Then I'll just have to prove you wrong."

"This from the kid that constantly bemoans his bad luck."

Tomu laughed at that. He did have a sincere belief that Kami or fate or whatever had fun messing with him. He would also probably agree that the Uchiha Clan was cursed but even he believed in the good moments. Tomu wobbled his hand on Sasuke's knee. "Hey, we have each other. That's something." Tomu stood up and turned away from a sudden wind of frigid air. "Come on, let's do those breathing techniques you taught me."

Sasuke got up in acquiescence. Since they were already on the playground, they settled on the swing set. As Sasuke focused the oxygen through his pathways, his mind steadied and focused. Was he being the irrational one?

Sasuke honestly could never be certain.

* * *

When Sasuke finally decided to talk Naruto, he decided confronting the shadow clone in the office would be a better approach. The real Naruto was currently in the capital overseeing the finishing touches for the Jounin Exams. Sasuke figured approaching Naruto's Hokage persona was more meaningful than cornering Naruto after he came home from a long day of work.

"Sasuke," the shadow clone Hokage acknowledged when Sasuke walked into the room without an appointment. If looks could kill, the Hokage's secretary would be considered an S-class ninja with every pointed glare she sent in Sasuke's direction whenever he passed by her desk in complete disregard. And Sasuke used a different henge every time but he was fairly sure she knew he was the same guy that busted into the Kage's office without consequence.

Sasuke shut the office door and latched it with a vindictive sneer towards the secretary's affronted glare. It was almost a game at times who could hold the longest glare. Sasuke walked inside the office and said, "After some thought, I've decided to stay in Konoha."

Naruto looked up from a packet of documents, blinked, and then said with a nod. "Thank you."

"And I want to help with Momochi."

Naruto straightened his stack of papers and then motioned Sasuke over to the map that spanned an entire wall of the office. Naruto pointed to the southeast end of Fire Country. "Momochi and Kusuro are planning to attack from the eastern shore."

Sasuke had gotten a pretty good gauge of Momochi in Ame. "Tell me about Kusuro Hatake."

Naruto shoulder's moved from the strength in which he sighed. "He's Kakashi's stepson. When Konoha annexed Grass Country during the war, Kusuro and his mother came under Konoha's protection because of their kekkai genkai. Konoha didn't always do right by them and Kusuro defected soon after the war ended."

"What happened to the mother?"

"She's the one that killed Kakashi."

Sasuke frowned. "That sucks."

"Ironically they probably would have turned out okay if it wasn't for all the politics and circumstances. But so much happened and the war scarred so many, Kusuro included."

"You speak of him fondly." Sasuke would have been concerned but he had learned Naruto could do what needed to be done despite his feelings. Chouji was an example of that.

"He was my ward for a while. I haven't seen him in a long time," Naruto spoke almost wistfully. "He reminded me a lot of you - so filled with anger."

"So this is personal?"

"Yeah, it's personal."

Sasuke pressed his lips together thoughtfully and studied the planes of Naruto's face. It was the look they came over Naruto's face right before he set in motion a plan to try and see the entirety of Kakashi's face. "You're going to tell me what you're scheming?"

Caught red-handed, Naruto gave a foxish smirk. "Where's the fun in that?" Sasuke could almost see Naruto's giddiness – the anticipation before a prank but on such a global scale that it was frightening.

"I already have everything handled. I just need someone to take care of Momochi."

* * *

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance when he could barely see the characters he was reading because of the shadow suddenly cast over his shoulder.

"Maybe it's a space-time jutsu like Obito?" Naruto suggested as he leaned further forward and furthered obscured the document.

"I've considered that." Sasuke shoved his hand into Naruto's face and pushed him away. He could barely read the ancient scrawl as it was.

Sasuke was attempting to cross-reference the pattern of Tomu's sharingan with the records he recovered from the Uchiha family vault. "It would be easier to identify if Tomu could do it again."

"Is that why you're trying to kill me!?" Tomu cried out just as he evaded a raikiri blast from Sasuke's shadow clone.

"Adrenaline and a near-death situation activated it before," Sasuke reasoned.

"Except Tomu knows you'll never really kill him," Naruto pointed out. "I hate to break it to you but you've gone all soft, Sasuke Uchiha."

Without looking up from the scroll, Sasuke punched Naruto in the arm. Naruto further teased, "You couldn't even bruise a genin with that punch."

"You are a genin."

Before Naruto could bite back with another remark, Sasuke gave Tomu a look of consideration and then stabbed a raikiri straight through Naruto's chest. Naruto's look of surprise was priceless. It was a mixture of disbelief, indignation, and prescience.

"What the fuck?!" Tomu screeched when he watched Naruto fall to the ground like a lump of coal. Naruto's blood bled through the snow. Ice drilled through Tomu's spine when Sasuke turned to him with an unhinged smile. Sasuke formed a familiar hand seal. He released a henge to reveal Orochimaru. Tomu's heart was fighting to escape his chest as if it could run away without him.

This can't be happening.

Tomu was so frozen in terror he couldn't even force himself to run. Orochimaru chuckled as he grabbed Tomu by the jaw. Orochimaru's slitted eyes beheld that same amusement when he had once watched Mushi stab herself with a kunai. Orochimaru's fangs protruded from his mouth and aimed towards Tomu's neck.

Tomu screamed.

Nothing happened. The pain he had tensed to expect never came. When he opened his eyes it was to the sight of Naruto and Sasuke arguing like that they had been just a few moments ago. Sasuke punched Naruto in the arm. "You couldn't even bruise a genin with that punch."

"You are a genin."

Sasuke looked at him. That's when Tomu noticed the small distortion in the air with his sharingan. Fucking genjutsu.

This time when Sasuke turned into Orochimaru, Tomu dismissed the genjutsu with ease. The greatest strategy to defeating a genjutsu is knowing you're in one in the first place.

"You think that's funny?!" Tomu yelled at Sasuke. He was blinking back blood from his eyes.

Naruto was full of confusion. Sasuke looked calculating. Sasuke moved towards Tomu who took a defensive step back.

"Don't touch me."

For a second, Sasuke hesitated, jolted back by the fear in Tomu's voice. But Sasuke took a step forward and murmured to Tomu softly, "I'll never hurt you."

Tomu sniffed and dipped his head into Sasuke's shoulder. The brief moment to calm down helped him to realize how angry he was at himself. "How am I supposed to face him when I freeze in fear at the sight of him?"

Sasuke pulled Tomu away from him and fixed him with a stare. "If Orochimaru should ever get past me and Naruto, you need to be able to fight back. Neither Naruto or I have pushed you with the Mangekyou until now because I know how traumatic it is to activate it. I know. But you no longer have the luxury nor the time to ignore it any longer. It's okay to be afraid but if you let the fear defeat you, you've already lost."

"That was still mean," Tomu mumbled.

Sasuke cuffed his hair affectionately until Tomu took a deep breath and pulled away. Sasuke had anticipated how the quick motion could affect him and was prepared to catch Tomu when he tilted over. Tomu felt ill and close to vomiting.

"It's name is Izanagi. It is a powerful genjutsu ability that a Uchiha hasn't manifested since before the founding of Konoha. It controls time, but just for a few seconds, and only if you have someone's eyes to manipulate. The ability takes a huge toll on the body and can only be performed about ten times before the user goes blind."

"Just perfect," Tomu said sarcastically.

Sasuke crouched down and then lifted Tomu onto his back. Tomu was pliant and hung loosely off Sasuke's back, too physically and emotionally exhausted to care. Naruto came up beside them and lifted a hand to Tomu's forehead. "Should I get Sakura?"

"It should pass but this isn't a jutsu to be used in the middle of a battle. It's a last resort."

"I agree. It's not something that should be used carelessly for the Jounin exams. We'll focus on increasing Tomu's control of Amaterasu."

"It's not fair," Tomu muttered bitterly into Sasuke's shoulder. "Why do we get these cursed abilities after our loved ones are gone? Who is the mad fuck that decided you have to witness the brutal and traumatic death of your loved ones in order to receive a power-up. This is bullshit."

Tomu could feel the laughter quaking in Sasuke's shoulders as he was carried over the threshold of the main house. And then, once Sasuke's laughter calmed Sasuke said almost regretfully. "You know, Itachi would have loved you."

Sasuke placed Tomu down on the couch in the library.

"Maybe it's the other way around," Naruto said thoughtfully as he came in and swung his leg over a chair. "Maybe someone took pity on the Uchiha. Maybe someone decided that this clan has seen too many people die. Let's give them the power to protect the ones that remain."

Sasuke shoved over Tomu's legs and crashed down into the free space. "The sharingan has never protected anyone I cared about. It's never brought me happiness. It's never brought me peace. It's only without the sharingan that I finally see. I am not defined by eyes just as you are not defined by the Kyuubi. I am more myself without them."

"Maybe that's the problem. When the Uchiha Clan finally stops defining their self-worth based on the pain and suffering inherent in the sharingan then maybe they can finally find peace."

"It's a little too late to redefine a dead clan."

"Not all of you are dead." Naruto shrugged. "It all depends on your definition."

Tomu kneed Sasuke in the back. "Not to interrupt your philosophical debate but do you mind getting me a sandwich or something?"

* * *

Sasuke's raikiri cracked the ground right before Tomu hiraishined like a lightning bolt to the other side of the sparring field. It certainly wasn't the type of fighting style Sasuke preferred but if a ninja's expertise in evasion was a measurable skill Tomu would be S-class in it.

The field exploded in black flames. Sasuke ripped off the shirt that had caught fire and lunged toward Tomu with Zatoichi. With practice, Tomu finally managed to quell Amaterasu while under pressure in battle. Tomu tossed a hiraishin kunai and appeared in the air above Sasuke's head. Tomu utilized the kunai during a battle more akin to the Yellow Flash than Naruto ever did. Sasuke kicked the boy out the air as he plummeted towards him.

The shadow clone dissipated and Sasuke turned to meet the whirling rasengan of fire. With a firm stance, Sasuke's hands sped through a series of seals. The earth jutsu entombed Tomu.

It took a split second, a shift of wind, to realize that Tomu had just hiraishined to Naruto's seal on his shoulder. He barely released a shield of chakra before the karasengan exploded in his face. Even Naruto threw up a quickly formed water jutsu to mitigate the damage.

Sasuke was thrown from his feet. His head was spinning when he pushed up with his hands and could feel the burns licking his skin. A gigantic crater the size of a bijuu bomb had torn through the center of the compound.

"Sasuke – 432. Tomu – 1," Naruto announced.

Tomu punched a fist in the air in celebration. Naruto didn't normally make hiraishin kunai connected to the Uzumaki Clan tattoos but Tomu had Ame make one last night specifically for Sasuke. It had been his ace in the sleeve and knew that he'll never catch Sasuke by surprise like that again. But he did win one. That had to count for something.

Naruto reached out a hand toward Sasuke and helped him to his feet. If it hadn't been for Naruto's last minute water jutsu, Sasuke would probably be dead. But that's why Naruto was there to oversee the match because they were sparring at such a high level. Sasuke had enough control over his killing techniques to pull back at the last second but just in case, Naruto was there to prevent any unfortunate accidents.

Sasuke looked up to the unsettling sight of blood dripping from Tomu's eyes. Oddly enough it had never bothered him when it had happened to Sasuke but he didn't like to see it on his cousin.

By the time Sasuke retrieved a wet rag, Tomu was collapsed back onto the ground still breathing heavily from the spar. Sasuke crouched down and studied Tomu's Mangekyou. He didn't like the apparent signs of stress he found in the eyes and certainly did not want his cousin to go blind by the age of twenty. Sasuke placed the rag over Tomu's eyes and decided, "That's enough."

"We're finished?" Tomu asked uncertainly. There were only two more weeks until the Jounin exams and they've been training non-stop.

"We're done training. Now you rest until the exams." It was odd when the call for moderation and discerning limits was left up to Sasuke. His entire childhood had been overreaching that weren't necessarily safe. "From this moment onward, do not activate your sharingan until the exams."

Tomu nodded while still holding the wet rag to his eyes. "I don't know how you did it. This shit hurts." It felt like someone had set his eyeballs on fire, which was a description Hohei often used when he has overstressed the byakugan.

Naruto nodded in agreement and then walked to the edge of the crater and looked toward the bottom. "Do you think we can fill this with water and then heat it up with a fire jutsu like a hot springs?"

Tomu immediately raised his hand. "I'm in."

* * *

"No partying until after the exams," Naruto lectured. "And keep your head down until it starts."

"Yes, _Dad_." Tomu huffed under Naruto's strict instructions. It wasn't as if Naruto hadn't gone over the rules last night.

"You're like parents dropping their kids off at the Academy," Hohei observed flatly.

Naruto turned on Hohei. "You too. Remember, Orochimaru went after Mushi to get to Tomu and he won't hesitate to go after you too. Don't trust anyone, not even each other. Always test each other if you've spent any significant time apart. Although, ideally I'd like the both of you to stick close and watch each other's back."

Hohei couldn't afford to complain like Tomu had. He simply bowed and said a polite, "Hokage-sama."

Both Hohei and Tomu had to arrive at the capital a few days early for registration. Sasuke understood Naruto's need to be strict with the both of them as Sasuke himself felt uncomfortable letting Tomu go on without him.

Sasuke had watched the proceeding with his hands in his pockets but he could tell the rest of the Hyuuga Clan were getting impatient. Since quite a few members, including the Clan Head herself, were participating in the exams they were all leaving as a group.

Sasuke squared his shoulders and walked up to Hohei. He felt uncomfortable showing affection in public but he would regret not saying anything if they never came back. "Be careful and watch out for Tomu."

"I'll take care of him." The Hyuuga promised.

"And take care of yourself." Tomu hadn't been the only one training for the Jounin Exams these past three months. Hohei had practically isolated himself within the Hyuuga compound.

Hohei shrugged and pointed out placidly. "You wouldn't be fucking me if I couldn't defend myself."

Sasuke shoved Hohei back and snorted at the unfortunate truth of those words. Hohei smiled before turning to join the other Hyuuga that were congregated underneath the gate.

Sasuke turned to Tomu and felt dread bubble in the pit of his stomach. He honestly didn't know if it was paranoia or Orochimaru always hiding behind the corner to snatch everything good away from him. Sasuke lifted a hand and pushed two fingers against Tomu's forehead. "Come back home."

Naruto casually walked over to Hinata who was leading the group. Despite the fact that Naruto and Hinata's relationship had ended, there were still two children between the clans, Ichigo was still married to a Hyuuga, and the blood they both spilled was still dry on the papers of their alliance.

"Be careful," Naruto told her with love and gentleness. "Take care of them."

"I will," Hinata promised as she leaned forward. Naruto bowed his head as Hinata pressed a kiss to his cheek. She lingered a hand on his shoulder before stepping away. Once the Clan Head was through the gate, the others quickly followed.

Sasuke watched Tomu depart and felt a sudden wave of nausea when Tomu left the defensive walls of Konoha. And suddenly, the pit of dread threatened to swallow him whole.

"You okay?" Naruto asked from beside him.

Sasuke lied.

* * *

"Tomu."

Tomu lifted his head immediately at the call of his name. He respectfully fell in step beside the Clan Head of the Hyuuga. "Honorable Sister," he acknowledged.

"Are you prepared for the exams?" Hinata asked as they walked along the road. They could have taken to the trees but the Hyuuga were quietly enjoying the crowded streets. Merchants, artisans, and fans were all making their way to the capital. A few were wishing any leaf shinobi they saw with luck or showering them with gifts of food and presents. The Hyuuga always accepted them graciously.

"As prepared as I'll ever be," Tomu said honestly. He was surprised how quickly Hinata had lost her baby weight and gotten back into shape since the four months she's had the baby. "If you don't mind me asking but why are you participating? Did Naruto tell you to look out for me?"

Hinata quirked up amused lips. "As much as I do care about your well-being, I have my own personal reasons. I'm participating because I want to. I did not get the opportunity to do so the last time."

"Oh, what were you doing for the last Jounin Exams?"

Hinata gave Tomu a soft amused smile. "I was taking care of business."

It took two days to reach the capital. They didn't rest very often, aware of Kuro no Keiyakusha or other incited civilians and didn't want to dally on the road. Tomu didn't come to the capital often and had come only once within the last six years during the early days of the reconstruction. The sight of it stole his breath away.

If Konoha was tall and imposing walls. The capital was open arms. If Konoha was the green of leaf ninja and the dull grey of a hitai-ite, the capital was colors. Foreign ninja had already started to arrive and were assigned their own area of the city. All of the leaf ninja registered to compete in the exams would be housed in the Daimyo's palace.

It had been rebuilt twice as grand as it had been before. The Twelve Guardians greeted them at the gate. Tomu felt insecure when he studied the list of leaf ninja that were participating in the exams: Tenten, Moegi, Konohamaru, Hohei, Hinata, and many more. Mushi would have participated if she was still alive.

Tomu hardly had time to put his bag on the bed in his assigned room before Hohei was slipping through the door. Before Tomu opened his mouth in greeting, Hohei raised his hand and asked, "What was Mushi's favorite color?"

"Pink." It was a complete lie but that wasn't the point. It was the code they've pre-emptively decided on. And Mushi's real favorite color was green. That was too obvious.

Hohei walked in and shoved a pack of paper and ink in Tomu's direction. He immediately marched out onto the balcony. They had a view over the lush gardens which still sparkled with diamonds even in the winter.

Hohei leaned against the railing and activated his byakugan. "We have a week to scope out the competition."

"I didn't think you'd care so much considering Hinata-sama forced you to enter the exams."

"I'm in it now. Might as well do it right. After we study the other contestants, we'll draw up any strategies we can use against them."

Hohei's byakugan flickered over chakra signatures and noted what weapons, how many kunai, and any scrolls that their competition was carrying. He wrote his observations down in a small journal.

With a nonchalant shrug Tomu added, "with the sharingan I memorized all the names on the registration. I'll begin cross-referencing the names with the bingo book." Then after a considerate thought, "Is this cheating?"

"Only if we're caught," Hohei shrugged. "We're ninja."

* * *

Hinata leaned against the balcony with a glass of wine in her hand. It was an impressive view that looked out over the capital and to the snow-capped forests beyond. From this distance, she could see the lights from the teams setting up cameras for the exams. Behind her, Neji Hyuuga sat before the fireside.

Upon meeting, they played the part of husband and wife but as soon as the doors closed everything was silence. Hinata took a sip, and then with more thought tipped her head back and emptied the glass. She set it upon the railing and walked back into the room.

"Neji."

Neji only cut her with sharp marble eyes. Honestly, Hinata didn't know exactly what Neji knew. But despite it all, she refused to bow her head in shame. She didn't regret any of her choices. Hinata sat on the edge of the bed and didn't miss the scent of other women on the sheets.

"Neji, come home."

"Am I so intolerable?" Neji asked with the same jaded cold Hinata remembered from her father. "You gave him _two_ children."

"Six years ago, I wasn't ready. Four years ago, I chose Naruto. I do not regret that choice but I do regret that my selfish decisions have kept you away from home for so long. The clan misses you Neji."

"I've been busy," Neji sneered. "I've had an entire city to rebuild, the Jounin exams to prepare for, and a Daimyo that needs me."

"We can still make this work, Neji," Hinata whispered.

Neji abruptly stood and left the room. He didn't come back.

* * *

Sasuke walked through the gates of the Uchiha compound unaware his life was about to change forever. He ran through a street of corpses, as if everyone he passed was a mile marker, a mile further and further away from the person he used to be. There was no finish line. The road stretched on forever and even though he couldn't see the future now, he knew for certain there would be corpses waiting for him to find.

Sasuke fell onto his knees and trembled as he dragged Tomu's dead body into his arms. His head lolled to the side where two angry puncture marks marred his neck.

In the far distance, further ahead, Sasuke could see another body. He didn't have the strength nor the courage to see if the body had pink or blonde hair.

Sasuke ran and refused to look down. He tripped over a corpse he didn't see and dragged himself desperately down the dirt path. It didn't end.

Sasuke woke up. In the middle of the night. In a cold sweat. He had to go. He had to run.

Sasuke scrambled for a shirt and boots. He grabbed his sword. Then he stepped one foot onto the windowsill. "Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique."

Gravity ceased to have power over him and then Sasuke shot full-force into the sky. Sasuke didn't stop until he reached the Daimyo's palace. He landed in the first open window. He crept inside the bedroom and found the occupants asleep. With ease he slipped out into the hallway. He leaned around the corner and found a guard patrolling the halls. Immediately, he decided he'll torture the location of Tomu's room out of the guard.

A hand landed on his arm.

Sasuke stabbed first and asked questions later. Hohei's wide eyes stared at him and then looked down at the kunai he barely deflected with a Jyuuken away from his heart. It landed in his arm instead. His glasses were crooked on his nose.

Sasuke squeezed a hand around Orochimaru's throat. "What have you done with Tomu?"

Orochimaru released chakra through all of his tenketsu points. The force of it shoved Sasuke back against the other wall. Sasuke inhaled for a fire-jutsu.

"Your mother's favorite cookies were oatmeal cinnamon."

The fire-jutsu died in confusion on Sasuke's tongue. That was the sentence he had agreed on with Hohei to verify each other's identities. He wasn't Orochimaru. The fact drifted through Sasuke's head until he suddenly snapped off the ground. "Where is Tomu?"

"He's asleep."

"Orochimaru is planning to attack soon. Take me to him."

Hohei gave Sasuke a wary glance before bringing him to Tomu's room. With great relief, he quickly pulled Sasuke out of the hallway who hadn't even stopped to put a henge on. He really hoped that no one noticed Sasuke flying here with the use of Oonoki's jutsu. That would make everyone's lives complicated.

Sasuke immediately closed the doors to the balcony and sealed it shut. Then he wired a paper bomb onto the handle. Then Sasuke did the same to the main door and a window.

"Hohei, activate your byakugan," Sasuke snapped harshly. "Keep it activated. All night if you have to.

Hohei casually stepped over to the bed and roughly shoved Tomu awake. Tomu snapped up with a mumble and followed Hohei hand signals to Sasuke's tense back. Tomu narrowed in on the blood on Hohei's arm and the purple bruises flowering along his neck but Hohei shook his head and mouthed, 'The trees are naked in winter.' It was ANBU code for when a team member out in the field has gone rogue.

Tomu immediately snapped to attention. Instead of going on the offensive, which he was more likely to do after being woken up in the middle of the night, Tomu carefully got out of bed and came to stand beside Sasuke where he was peering through the curtains. "What's going on?"

"Orochimaru is coming."

"Did you see him? How do you know?"

"I had a dream."

Tomu looked back and met eyes with Hohei who gave a shrug. Much help he was. Tomu attempted gently, "It was just a dream Sasuke. I am fine. Hohei is fine. Orochimaru isn't here."

"Yes, he is." Lightning crackled through Sasuke's chakra.

Every instinct in Tomu was screaming danger. It was telling him to move far out of this man's striking distance. It reminded Tomu of his father – who had sometimes been a good man but more often than not turned violent and erratic at the bottom of a bottle.

Tomu slowly stepped back and then dug into his bag for a copy of the Toad summoning scroll. This was too dangerous to handle by himself. It took another S-class to deal with an S-class. Tomu's name followed Naruto's on the summoning scroll. Ichigo Uzumaki was the last.

He summoned a toad and immediately got out a message to Naruto. It only took several minutes before Naruto showed up in the middle of the room, anchored by the hiraishin seal on Tomu's arm.

Sasuke turned at Naruto's presence. This was good. Naruto can help with Orochimaru. "We need to evacuate Tomu to a secure location before Orochimaru gets here."

"Tomu, there is a secure vault that the Daimyo uses when the capital is under attack. Go there now," Naruto ordered Tomu and Hohei.

Tomu gave a confused look. Naruto's expression turned pointed. Tomu nodded in understanding and then they left. They moved over to Hohei's room down the hall and let Naruto take care of the rest. Naruto walked up beside Sasuke.

"Hohei can't have his byakugan activated all night long. How about I used sage mode and we'll watch for Orochimaru together?"

Sasuke nodded in agreement with the plan.

It was four hours later when Sasuke realized he might have been wrong. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Naruto, who looked more asleep than actually meditating.

It was at the crack of dawn when Sasuke finally slumped against the wall and had a panic attack. He wheezed at the warmth of Naruto's hand sliding up his neck. Naruto's thumb massaged into the base of Sasuke's nape and Sasuke focused on that contact to keep him from submitting to the terror that threatened to burn him up from the inside out.

When Sasuke had finally pulled himself together, he was exhausted by the end of it. He felt as if he had gone into battle and he had barely won. He gave himself completely over to Naruto and collapsed bodily against him.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll talk later," Naruto suggested, then reached underneath Sasuke's bottom, lifted him up, and then carried him to bed.

Even though Sasuke was tired, that creeping sense began to burrow back into his bones. It made him too aware and too hyper-vigilant to sleep. Every joint felt on edge.

"Sasuke, open your chakra to me."

Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated on forcing himself open but even that was hard. His chakra was on the defensive, closed off, and wary. He managed a thread and Naruto's sage chakra vibrated through the small pathway. But it was enough as the muscles in Sasuke's bones began to relax until he was completely open and lost himself completely to the vast pool of chakra that sang him lullabies to sleep.

* * *

Sasuke woke up slowly and then as if a piece of wood had snapped, sat up awake in an empty room. His heartbeat ratcheted at the immediate thought that Orochimaru had taken Naruto. Orochimaru had taken him right out of his arms and was mocking him with the fading warmth on the bed sheets beside him.

Sasuke was seconds every from a meltdown when the door opened with a cheery Naruto carrying in a tray full of pastries. "I figured you'd be up soon. You've got to try these things. They're... what's wrong?"

Sasuke was slightly mortified by himself. He stared at the sword in his hand and slowly placed it on the nightstand. Then Sasuke remembered the last time he had been like this and how Naruto had literally distanced himself from Sasuke for weeks. He glanced over warily at Naruto.

Naruto placed down the tray and asked, "Sasuke, please talk to me. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."

Naruto was going to think he was crazy. He suddenly felt trapped and the heat of the room began to rise.

"Sasuke, tell me, please. I won't judge you. I'm not going anywhere."

"But you did," Sasuke barked at Naruto in anger. "The last time you ran away and grew uncomfortable around me for weeks. You think I'm insane don't you?"

Because at this point, Sasuke certainly felt like it.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, and then immediately closed it to think out his words. This wasn't what he had been expecting. Naruto remembered how he had handled Sasuke's last 'episode'. He had distanced himself from Sasuke for days afterwards and perhaps it wasn't the best way of handling the situation but Naruto had done it out of self-preservation.

"I don't think you're crazy. I think you're going to have ups and downs because there is a lot you're still working through. And I'm sorry. I had distanced myself because I was scared. Because I was afraid to care again. I was afraid to be that person who anchored you." Naruto took a deep breath and realized this relationship was just not going to work if he wasn't all the way in it. And Naruto did what he promised himself he would never do again. "I'm not going to give up on you again. I'm here for you and I always will be, no matter what."

Sasuke's shoulders shuddered at those words because there was a promise in them. Naruto reached out his hand, hoping Sasuke could trust him to stay and could trust him with his vulnerability. Sasuke just about fell into Naruto's arms. In sudden desperation, Sasuke's hands ghosted over Naruto's arms and then under his shirt.

Naruto closed his eyes and focused on his promise as Sasuke's hands ran desperate up his bareback. It was too intimate for friends but much too desperate and scared for lovers. It was this ambiguous in between Naruto could never really define.

Naruto could tell something finally clicked and the panic had ebbed when Sasuke snapped his hands away and pulled apart from Naruto with embarrassment red on his cheeks. Sasuke said softly between them. "I woke up and thought Orochimaru had taken you."

"If I had known I never would have left. Next time I won't leave until you tell me. We'll figure out how to manage this."

Sasuke nodded.

"Do you want some pastries. They're really good." Naruto said as he reached for the tray and sat it between them. "The head cook of the palace likes me. She even makes ramen when I ask for it."

Sasuke picked one up and bit into the flaky crust. "Last night felt so real, Naruto. I could have bet everything that something was going to happen."

It's terrifying when you can't trust your instincts anymore.

Naruto said after some thought and three pastries later. "Do you know what triggered you? You weren't like this the other day. It's… oh, Tomu leaving."

Sasuke rubbed at his eyes. "I don't think I can do it Naruto. I know I promised to stay in Konoha for the exams but I… I don't know if I can do this."

Naruto combed his fingers through his hair.

It was Naruto's turn to budge.

"If I let you come to the capital, you promise not to start a war?"

"I promise." Sasuke felt a weight lift of his shoulders.

"But," Naruto pinned Sasuke with a serious stare. "If you have any concerns, you need to talk to me before acting on then. I need to approve all of your actions while we are here in the capital. Do you understand? I don't need you going rogue on me. And you will be by my side the entire time."

"I'll follow those parameters," Sasuke promised.

"And you'll schedule an early appointment with Dr. Yamanaka when we get home."

Sasuke nodded. He was going to do that anyways.

With all of Naruto's rules laid out, he collapsed back into an army of pillows and patted his stomach with satisfaction. It was the first time Sasuke really looked around the room. It was considerably different than the room they were in before. "Where are we?"

"The Hokage's suit. I brought us here earlier this morning. Tomu and Hohei still need to prepare for the exams."

Sasuke cringed and knew he would need to apologize to both Tomu and Hohehi for last night. Sasuke got up, cleared the empty tray, and placed it to the side. He went off to explore the new environment and found the Hokage suite included several rooms, a bathroom that encompassed a heated pool, and a balcony from the very top of the palace. It was luxurious, expensive, and opulent.

Sasuke gave Naruto a judgmental eyebrow. Naruto chuckled with a grin. "The kids like it and it was Tomu who designed the whole thing. Blame him."

"Do you have a lot to do today?"

"That's what shadow clones are for."

Sasuke frowned. "You don't have to babysit me."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No," Sasuke pouted and watched as Naruto scrambled underneath the bed and brought out a shogi board. He began to set up the pieces.

"You probably haven't seen much of the capital since it's been rebuilt. I think there's a Noh play tonight. There's also this famous art exhibit in town. Do you want to go?"

Sasuke shrugged as he crawled onto the large bed to his side of the board. He was barely playing, didn't really need to against Naruto as Naruto completely sucked at this game but Sasuke appreciated Naruto's effort to pacify him.

Naruto changed his schedule. He lowered other people in importance and gave Sasuke his whole attention for an entire day – something that Naruto never did for anyone but his kids or Hinata. Sasuke knew Naruto was too busy of a person to give him more than a day but it was exactly what he needed to feel sane again.

* * *

"And how are you doing today?" Dr. Yamanaka asked as Sasuke explained his tumultuous past few days.

"I'm managing it. And it's easier with Naruto. Sometimes I'm too afraid to go to Tomu because I'm not always in control of those moments and I'm afraid I might hurt him. Naruto is more resilient and capable of handling my…issues."

"Why not Haruno-san? As you know, Naruto is the Hokage. He might not always be available. You should speak with her too. It is important to develop a reliable support system that you trust," Dr. Yamanaka answered.

Sasuke bit his lip and then asked fearfully, afraid of the answer. "Do you think I'm regressing?"

"You've lost a lot of people close to you in traumatic ways. It's understandable that you might react in this way. Tomu leaving Konoha definitely triggered you. Naruto might have placed you in a position you weren't ready for. Have you ever felt this way before?"

"The first several months after the clan died. I kept thinking that Itachi was around every corner just waiting to finish me off. Those first few months, I didn't leave my house because I was terrified. It was only when I realized Itachi was never coming back did the anger began. But first I felt like this, panicked, out of control, like death was around every corner."

"I sincerely wished the Sandaime had you talk to someone. It could have helped mitigate and manage everything you are experiencing now."

"I'm supposed to be an S-class ninja. I can wipe out armies with my eyes closed but I can't fucking deal with my cousin being in another city for a week. I'm pathetic."

"No, you're still healing and these feelings that you are experiencing are legitimate. This process takes years Sasuke and all we can really do is move forward one day at a time."

Sasuke crossed his arms and further sunk into the couch.

"Naruto is starting to play an important role in your mental health and well-being. How have you two resolved the rumors?"

"Rumors?" Sasuke asked perplexed.

Dr. Yamanaka seemed surprised. He got up and turned on the radio. The moment the song was over, the announcer greeted the listeners. "Yo, yo, yo. Four-Dog here bringing you the latest news branching through Konoha. Everyone today can't stop talking about the Hokage's secret lover. We have sources in the capital reporting that the other day the Hokage ordered a tray for two to his private suite in the palace. He was seen attending a Noh play and art exhibit later that evening with Tomu Uzumaki but according to other sources, Tomu Uzumaki was also in his room for the entire day. Can anyone say henge? Who is the Hokage's mysterious lover and is Uzumaki-sama going to debut her during the exams? Konoha waits in anticipation."

Sasuke stared at the radio in utter shock. Dr. Yamanaka laughed. "Before you came in here I thought you and the Hokage might have moved to another level of your relationship."

" _No_ ," Sasuke spat in almost horror and disgust. Has Naruto heard this?

Dr. Yamanaka sat back down slowly with an amused smirk. "How about we really talk about Naruto."

Sasuke groaned back into the couch. "I'm in love with him but you already knew that because you're my therapist and if you didn't you suck at your job."

The Doctor chuckled. "Yes, I knew. How does that affect your relationship and his ability to be a part of your support system?"

"We haven't really discussed it."

"You should."

Sasuke gave him a glare. "Things are complicated. Naruto just ended a relationship and I don't want him to get the wrong idea. I'm trying to respect his space."

"Maintaining a friendship can be just as hard and complicated as maintaining a relationship. Even friendships are based on honesty and open communication. Sometimes it helps to vocally establish boundaries." Doctor Yamanaka poked Sasuke in the knee. "Talk it out. I know how hard it is for you but it'll make things easier in the end."

"What if he runs away again?"

"He promised he wouldn't do that. Trust him to be there for you like he said he would be. Talk to him."

* * *

Sasuke came in during homework time much to Naruto's extreme relief. Sasuke easily slotted back into the chaos of the library and it was almost a relief to return to their usual routine. "How did your session go?" Naruto asked when they shooed kids off to get ready for dinner and cleaned up the library.

"He suggested that we should have a talk."

Naruto grew concerned. "Should we move to my office?"

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto sat down atop his desk, scattering paperwork, much like Ame would do. Sasuke closed the door behind him and sat down crooked in the chair. "Have you heard the radio?"

Naruto immediately threw his head back in laughter. "It'll last a week tops. You should have seen how long they speculated about me and Gaara. They'll get tired of it eventually. Is that what you're worried about?"

Sasuke fixed Naruto with a stare. There was no beating around the bush on this one. "I'm in love with you."

Several emotions flickered across Naruto's face. He looked down and tapped fingers against his desk. "I know. I've known."

"Are we going to be okay?" Sasuke asked cautiously. "My therapist suggests we decide on boundaries and I think it's a good idea because I'm constantly afraid that any little thing I do will send you running away. Quite frankly, your friendship means a lot more to me than trying to be anything else. I understand that some decisions don't get second chances. I want this friendship to work between us but I need to know what's acceptable and what you're comfortable with."

"Did you know the kids think we're dating? Most of them never knew about Hinata and they had thought I was upset because I had gotten in a fight with you. Boruto asks me when we're getting married. And I get it, they're kids and I don't really bring anyone else into their lives and they like you for who knows what reason. So yeah, I admit I've been running away from it. This," Naruto waved a hand between them, "scares the shit of me Sasuke. I need time. I need to make sure we work as friends first."

Sasuke's heart thudded at the implication. He needed to make sure he wasn't making assumptions. "You're suggesting that in the future…"

"It's impossible to say what's going to happen in the future. Fuck, I don't even know if we survive Orochimaru. I can't give you a definitive answer but I'm not going to lie to you and say that it might never happen. Despite how much physical chemistry I had with Hinata there's _something_ between us, always has been. Everything between us has always been so much more raw and it also means it'll hurt more in the end if it doesn't work out. I think it'll be better for the both of us if we take this extremely slow. After all, we've never really had a healthy relationship as friends in the first place. Let's figure that out first."

"And you're okay that I'm a guy?"

"I'm an orphan that grew up in a world that hated me. I don't take love for granted. All I can say is that _maybe_ we'll try. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it will. But I think we're fooling ourselves not to acknowledge it's not an option."

Sasuke nodded, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. Naruto wanted to be friends but he'd be open to more further in the future. It was a complete flip from the anger and rejection from just a year ago. "Boundaries. What aren't you comfortable with?"

"Anything sexual," Naruto admitted. "You touched me a little yesterday."

Sasuke almost died from mortification. Sasuke hadn't realized he had his hands all over Naruto's chest until it was too late.

"I know you were a little out of it and it's fine if you really need it. I won't push you away. I'm going to have to trust you not to take advantage of the situation. But the moment you do break my trust, I don't know if I'll be able to do this again. If we ever go beyond just friends, I need to know I can trust you completely."

"I understand and I won't put you in a position you're uncomfortable with."

"This also includes violence. You have a history of being abusive and you have gotten better. Sometimes you can't help it and I understand if it's an accident but at other times I think we owe it to each other to try and talk things out to the best of our ability before we resort to fists unless we have explicitly stated we're sparring. I don't heal like I used to and I'm not as young as I used to be. I know back in my office I pushed first. I'm working on it too but we can't resort to violence every time we can't talk to each other."

"We'll work on it," Sasuke agreed, his heart beating harder with every kink they iron out to make sure this friendship of theirs work.

"And I know I'm usually a tactile guy but we should limit all touching in front of the kids. I don't want to further fuel their assumptions. And I don't want you to be afraid to come and talk to me. I don't want you to have to deal with shit on your own Sasuke. Next time, just wake me up before _flying_ off full-throttle to the capital. Your turn. This goes both ways."

"Just one." Sasuke fixed Naruto with bright honey eyes. "Don't run away from me."

Naruto chuckled at the irony of the request. For the first part of their lives it was very much the other way around. "How about this, we both stop running away from each other?"

It felt good to finally meet in the middle.

* * *

"A Daimyo must always maintain their composure," Neji said beside the Daimyo who began to shift in anxious excitement. Neji stood next to the throne where the Daimyo sat. Usually the Daimyo could sit through an entire audience with decorum but today was different.

And suddenly, in the middle of the throne room the Hokage appeared with a contingent of guards.

"Daimyo-sama," Neji tried. The Daimyo leapt out of the chair and slammed into Naruto's arms. The Hokage swung the Daimyo around the room while the Twelve Guardians attempted not to chuckle.

"You've gotten so big since your birthday," Naruto exclaimed.

"Two inches," the Hokage said proudly as Naruto placed him back onto his feet. It was only then that the Daimyo remembered he was in a room full of witnesses and attempted to recollect himself. He corrected his face into a serious expression, which always threatened to crack a smile and said, "Hokage-sama."

"Daimyo-sama," Naruto replied amused.

"I hope you have been well and in good health. The staff has prepared a wonderful dinner for us. I hope it is to your liking." The Daimyo skipped as he fell in step with Naruto.

"I cannot wait," Naruto said as they began to walk toward the dining hall.

Neji hasn't seen Hinata in six years but he's certainly seen Naruto far too often. But no matter their personal grievances Naruto was the Hokage. In public, it was all business. In private, they didn't talk each other.

* * *

Tomu's bed was covered in notes. He grunted at a knock on the door.

"If I was Orochimaru, you'd be dead."

Tomu's head snapped up toward the Fox mask that entered the room. "What are you doing here? Does Naruto know? Are you trying to drag me back to Konoha?"

Sasuke glared at the both of them.

Tomu sighed. "Fine. What is my favorite song and off of what album?"

"Killer Bee's Monster off the Eight Tails Album. This isn't a joking matter. You need to be on-guard at all times." Sasuke berated them.

Tomu pointed his thumb over at Hohei. "Hohei probably saw you come in with Naruto. He wasn't worried. You're not Orochimaru," Tomu reasoned with logic it was hard for Sasuke to refute.

"Then you know you need to get ready for the Daimyo's dinner?"

"Shit," Tomu said as he scrambled off the bed and organized the paperwork into files. "What's the point of having a Hyuuga as a best friend if a guy can't get a little bit of warning?"

Hohei gave him an unimpressed stare. "We'll go over the plan one more time when we get back and then get to bed early for the exams tomorrow."

"I don't want to go," Tomu complained as he laid out his kimono. As the pseudo brother to the Kage, the Daimyo had reached out to Tomu with a formal invitation and Tomu couldn't exactly abandon Naruto at a table full of Hyuuga.

"It'll be entertaining at the very least," As the Hyuuga heir, Hohei was also required to attend. Tomu gave a baleful glare. "This is going to be the first time in years Naruto, Hinata, and Neji are going to be at a table together. It's going to be Hyuuga family drama at its best."

* * *

The Daimyo sat at the head of the table. His advisor, Neji sat on the left and Naruto sat on the right. After Neji, sat Hinata, and Hohei. Tomu elected to sit beside Hohei because Amaru, one of the Twelve Guardians had already claimed the seat next the Hokage. The rest of the table was filled with the other eleven of the Daimyo's Guardians.

The Hokage stood up with a toast. "When Kuro no Keiyakusha bombed the capital it was the most horrifying event to ever occur in the history of Fire Country and an act of unseen terrorism ever launched on a group of civilians. I am extremely proud of all of you who have dedicated themselves to rebuilding the capital to heights even greater than it had been before. These Jounin Exams is a testament to our strength, our refusal to never give up, and our will of fire. I want to give a special thank you to his majesty, the Daimyo and to Hyuuga Neji. Without your vision, none of this would have ever been possible."

The Daimyo stood with his goblet of grape juice. "Let us not forget to also give thanks to you and all of the support you have provided over the years. Long live the Hokage."

Everyone at the capable toasted to the sentiment, drank, and sat down to eat. Sasuke watched as Naruto effortlessly worked the table. He acknowledged every guardian by name and seemed to know the intimate details of their lives like an old friend returned home. Naruto was graciously received, perhaps the best relations between the Guardians and the Hokage since the Sandaime soured them.

"If you don't mind me asking, you know about all of us Hokage-sama, but you hardly divulge your personal life," Amaru said with a smile. "Is the Hokage bringing a date to the Jounin Exams?"

It was obvious she was fishing for the Hokage's alleged secret lover.

Naruto choked on his steak. ANBU Fox sighed, stepped forward and slapped Naruto against the back. Naruto waved Fox away appreciatively and reached for a glass of water. Naruto chuckled softly, then plastered on that smile of mischief and asked slyly. "Are you volunteering?"

The entire table went silent. Everyone was so used to the Hokage deflecting any question about his love life that no one had actually anticipated him taking it seriously.

Amaru's cheeks went red and stammered, "I have guardian duty to guard and do."

"I could always use a date for the ball afterwards."

One of the other Guardians wolf-whistled. Who could say no to the Hokage? Especially when it was becoming more and more apparent he was actively flirting.

"Sure," Amaru said softly.

Hinata frowned. "You should take more time to consider your answer. You attend the ball as the Hokage's date and your entire life will change. The media storm afterwards will not be forgiving. You will become a target to his enemies. Naruto, you should give her more time to consider her decision and make sure she understands what she's agreeing to than to just fling your question out during dinner."

Amaru looked at Hinata affronted. "I'm quite capable of making my own decisions but thank you for your concern. Naruto and I have been acquaintances for a long time. I know him just as well as you do."

Tomu had to completely turn away from the table and hold in a hurt laugh.

"Then you certainly know that the Uzumaki have an alliance with the Hyuuga and I am well within my rights to voice my concern."

"And alliance I never agreed to," Neji muttered darkly.

"Ultimately, the Clan Head makes the final decisions."

"Even without discussing it with her husband."

"Perhaps I would consider my husband opinions more often if he came home once in a while." Everyone suddenly became more invested in their food. Hohei was embarrassed for them. Naruto looked as if he was about to say something at any minute but wisely kept it on the tip of his tongue.

"This is not a conversation to be had at the dinner table."

"Then you should not have brought it up. You haven't been to Konoha in six years. Certainly everyone in this room is aware our problematic marriage. If you cared so much about saving face, you would have come home."

Neji shot to his feet, slapped his napkin onto the table and left. Hinata rose to her feet and immediately went after him.

Neji immediately turned on her. "I refuse to be embarrassed in front of the Daimyo again."

"You embarrassed yourself, Neji. If you don't like my policies or decisions that should be discussed in private. Even if you don't agree with me we should show a consolidated front to the public. I don't understand. You are capable of working with Naruto when it is required of you."

"We're married! This is more than a business relationship."

"All it ever was is a business relationship."

Neji jolted back as if slapped.

"If you absolutely cannot do this anymore, if you are done with me, if you've given up, then fine – let's get a divorce. Because in order for this to work I need you to try. And fine, maybe you won't ever forgive me but I am still here and I am still willing to fight for this marriage. Are you done fighting, Neji?"

Neji turned to the empty stretch of hall where he could escape. Honestly, he didn't know what he wanted. He did know one thing. "I still love you." Neji was hurt. In the gilded hallway of the capital, Neji slowly realized that once he moved on from being hurt, he still wanted Hinata there. "Are you and Naruto really over?"

"If picking up dates at the dinner table was any indication," Hinata said coldly. "He still comes over to the compound to see his daughter but our relationship is over. And I can't promise you all the answers right away. I can't promise you everything is going to be perfect. But I can promise you one day at a time. I love Naruto but you're my husband and I don't want to give up one you. Naruto broke up with me because I couldn't fight for him. But I will fight for you."

Neji sagged against the hallway right beside a painted landscape of Fire Country in autumn. "I wish life was just easy answers."

Hinata leaned beside him. "It never is."

* * *

"Finished memorizing everything?" Hohei said as he finished showering in Tomu's bathroom.

"Just a few more pages," Tomu reported. He flipped through the hundreds of pages. With the sharingan he memorized the various strategies they've created for every contestant in the exams.

They've decided to get to sleep early for the exams tomorrow. Tomu was already dressed in his pajamas. He had taken his shower once dinner was over because seriously, Hohei uses all the hot water. Hohei sat down on the other edge of the bed and began combing out the short strands of his hair.

"You feel ready?"

"About as ready as we're ever going to be." Tomu finally closed the folder and the week of research that they had prepared.

It was wordlessly agreed upon that Hohei would be sleeping in Tomu's room as he had been doing for the past week. Sometimes they liked to pretend Orochimaru didn't influence their lives but it was never wrong to be careful. And if Orochimaru was coming for them, at least they'll face him together.

They slipped quietly under the covers.

"I can't stop thinking about the fact that Mushi would have been here. She would have entered and probably dragged the both of us along with her."

Hohei deactivated his byakugan. He often checked in with the other Hyuuga in the palace before falling asleep. Hohei linked his hands together behind his head and said softly, "I miss her."

It was almost a relief to hear Hohei say it out loud, to assure Tomu that he wasn't alone in remembering her. Before Mushi died, Hohei had actually been closer to her than he had been to Tomu. Hohei was often partnered with Mushi on missions. They had been genin teammates.

They had both loved her in their own way.

"Tomorrow is for Mushi."

"For Mushi."

* * *

Neji mentally reviewed every little thing that could potentially go wrong tomorrow.

"You're thinking too much," Hinata said as she slipped into bed. Neji looked over at the sheer nightgown she was wearing and tried not to get distracted with thoughts of her naked beside him. Hinata settled a soft hand onto his arm. "I trust the Hokage."

And the crazy part was, Neji trusted him too - certainly not with his wife, but he trusted Naruto with Konoha. It felt so conflicting to both hate and respect someone so much. Sure, he wanted to jyuuken Naruto in the dick several times but Neji would step in front of a kunai for him.

Neji has seen firsthand how much Naruto puts himself into his job. He was always available when the capital needed him and supported Neji's vision for what the capital could become. In the early days, the Uzumaki clan often volunteered in the streets of the capital – feeding the homeless, offering free labor for construction, and generally bringing joy to a people who had once watched it all blow away in a mushroom cloud.

Neji despised Naruto but he was proud of his Hokage. He had come to terms with that dichotomy a long time ago. Now he just had to bring himself to forgive his wife.

There was a soft tap on the door.

As if instinctively, Hinata activated her byakugan. Neji already knew who it was. He swept back the covers and went to answer the door.

The Daimyo stared up at Neji in his night robes. There was a Guardian at his shoulder who had escorted the Daimyo through the palace halls. "I can't sleep," the ten-year old child stammered nervously. He stilled smelled sweetly from perfumes and incense. "I'm so worried about tomorrow."

Without a word, Neji crouched down, lifted the Daimyo in one arm, and brought him to bed.

* * *

Naruto was hunched over reading a few messages from Konoha messenger birds. There was a knock on the door and Sasuke immediately moved to see who it was. He grabbed the Fox mask off the end of the bed and opened the door. He shut it seconds later.

"It's your girlfriend."

"Amaru?" Naruto scrambled off the bed and poked his head through the door. Amaru's hand was still formed into a fist to knock. Amara was about to say a witty comment about the bad manners of his ANBU but went blank at the sight of the Hokage in his pajamas. It was weird to see him in anything other than the cloak and hat. Civilian clothes, more specifically pajamas pants decorated with the leaf ninja emblem commonly found on the hitai-ite, completely short-circuited her brain.

"Is everything okay? I hope this isn't an emergency."

Amaru shook herself out of her dumb-struck stupor. The Hokage had this effect on people. "If it was, then the Guardians would take care of it since it is in the purview of the capital. But no, this is about dinner. Were you joking?"

Naruto shoved his hands in his robes and pressed his shoulder against the wall. "I wouldn't do you the disservice of joking about such a matter and I probably shouldn't have brought it up at dinner but it was hard to resist the opportunity to catch you off-guard. I really did mean it. Would you like to join me at tomorrow's ball?"

Amaru could feel the flush in her cheeks. She's known the Hokage for a long time through his sporadic visits to the capital.

"Why now?" Amaru asked curiously. "You've never been interested before."

"I was involved with someone but it didn't work out," Naruto explained gently. "Hinata is right that agreeing to one date with me carries a lot of unintended weight. We can do this privately if you want but I would like the chance to get to know you better."

Amaru placed a hand on Naruto's arm and for some reason the gesture seemed very intimate. "I'm not afraid of what other people will say. I'd love to go to the ball with you."

Naruto's smile was stunning. He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "I look forward to it."

Amaru nodded and knew she needed to let the Kage return to his rest. She waved goodbye and left down the hall. Sasuke was there, judging him from the bed. Sasuke looked up from the letters addressed to the Hokage and asked, "What's that stupid smile for?"

"I've got a date," Naruto chirped and fell backwards onto the bed. "And a possible, high-probability chance of getting laid tomorrow night. I haven't had sex since… forever." It had been sometime in the thirst trimester of Hinata's pregnancy.

"No shit. You're not exactly stealthy jacking off in the workshop."

Naruto cringed. "It's not an easy thing to do in a compound full of kids." Naruto looked up and reached up to shake Sasuke's leg. "Hey, you're okay with this?"

"I'm not going to a fucking ball."

Naruto snorted. "With your dance moves I wouldn't want to go either."

"I was drunk." Sasuke responded hotly.

"My dear Sasuke, back in your day when you were training to be Clan Head, traditional dances were in. Now it's the tango. It's been the popular dance of the court since a merchant brought it from overseas. I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself."

"I could probably learn it in an hour," Sasuke snarked.

Naruto stuck out his tongue like a child. He crawled under the covers and turned off the lamp light. The drapery that framed the bed hid everything on the outside of the sheer orange in darkness. Sasuke gathered the messages and stacked them on the bedside between them.

They laid silently in the bed. Sasuke turned on his side and listened to the sounds of a harp in the courtyard, laughter from the gate, and the scurrying of servant's feet through the hall. Naruto had fallen asleep first, who had drifted through sage mode for a while and brought the swirling chakra of colors into his dreams.

But Sasuke couldn't get to sleep. Orochimaru had a flair for the dramatics. He's attacked Konoha during a chuunin exams and it would be like him to also attack tomorrow. The world was holding its breath in anticipation and Sasuke didn't know how Naruto could just _sleep_.

Sasuke moved from the bed and was startled when Naruto caught him by the wrist. Naruto wasn't asleep yet or either Sasuke's shift had woken him up.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep. I'm going to patrol the halls."

Naruto tugged Sasuke back to the bed. He draped an arm around Sasuke's midsection to keep him from going anywhere and sleepily murmured against Sasuke's neck. "Talk to me."

"A lot is at stake tomorrow. How can you just sleep?"

"It's a skill I've developed as Hokage," Naruto chuckled and then after a while said softly. "I killed Sai."

Sasuke remembered Sai. He was a bit annoying if anything. Naruto grip was loose so Sasuke turned over in Naruto's arms. Talking into Naruto's eyes suddenly seemed more intimate than anything they've done thus far. For a while, they simply looked at each other.

"Sai died because I fell asleep on a mission. The stress of ANBU took its toll on me. I hadn't slept in days and because I wasn't taking care of myself, I made mistakes. We're so powerful it's easy to forget we have limits. Even S-class ninja need sleep. We can't afford mistakes tomorrow."

"That must have been hard on you," Sasuke said softly. The fact that Naruto was sharing this with him when he wasn't drunk is a big deal. The only time Naruto really opened up to him was when he was drinking – as if he wanted to sober but he lacked the courage to go that far.

"I blame myself every day."

Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his forehead into the collar of Naruto's neck. It felt good to touch him, to feel his weight in the bed, to know that he was there. "Is this okay?"

"Hmm… I can do cuddling," Naruto said as he brought his hand to mess up the strands of Sasuke's hair. Sasuke grunted in annoyance.

Sasuke understood what Naruto meant when he said all of this was frightening. They've never been more exposed or vulnerable to each other than they were now and it would be so easy for either one of them to wound the other. This level of trust was terrifying and something Sasuke has never had before nor something Sasuke thought he would ever want. But it anchored him in a way he never expected.

The Hokage and the Uchiha fell asleep.

* * *

_**It felt good to finally meet in the middle.** _

* * *

**x**


	20. Jounin Exams

It was snowing the day of the Jounin Exams. Despite the foot of snowfall, crowds packed the streets of the capital. Civilians who had come from across Fire Country, who couldn't even afford a ticket into the stadium had camped for the past two days on the streets just for the chance to get a glimpse of the Daimyo and the Hokage during the opening procession.

The fanciful procession wound through the streets from the grande palace doors to the stadium where the exams would be viewed. It was an impressive sight that had the crowd full of energy even in the freezing cold. When the Fire Daimyo and the Hokage, who were leading the procession, finally came into view the crowds chanted their names with endless enthusiasm and reached out hands for a chance to touch their robes.

The Daimyo rode in an open palanquin where he bashfully waved to the masses. The Hokage, of course, was much more theatrical. He was gliding cross-legged on a literal ball of air and often shook hands with people in the crowd whom he passed. Naruto kissed the crowns of offered babies and often leaned into the crowd for a full-frontal grin when someone held up a camera. The flash was almost blinding.

There was something dynamic about Naruto that the people of Fire Country easily fell in love with. He was softer than the hard edges of the Second Hokage. He was younger and more handsome than the Third. He was the son of the Fourth and his reign has already passed the length of his father's. He didn't have Tsunade's sordid reputation of being a gambler and alcoholic. He was reminiscent of the First Hokage, of the very personality this country was founded on.

"I'm so proud of him," Sakura said with a smile as she watched Naruto give hope to an entire country. She's been in the capital for several weeks because she had to oversee all of the contestant's physicals. Now that her work was over, she was enjoying being a part of the moment.

"Haruno-san! Haruno-san!" Sakura turned in the direction of a small voice desperately trying to get her attention. Sakura walked toward the line of tape that prevented the crowd from mobbing them. Sakura crouched down to greet the shy young girl.

"Haruno-san, I want to be a doctor like you."

Sakura reached out and wiped her thumb across the peasant girl's dirty cheek. She wasn't even a ninja. The only thing anyone would ever expect of her is to be married off as a child-bride for a chicken and a cow.

Sakura looked at the young girl as if she could transfer all her strength and will. "You can be anything you want to be."

The girl smiled in trembling tears. Sakura gave her a parting kiss but continually looked over her shoulder at the peasant little girl as she returned to her position in the procession.

ANBU Fox leaned over to whisper. "Proud of you too."

Sakura gave her old teammate a beaming smile. She was proud of Naruto and all he's accomplished but she was equally proud of herself. She's made a difference. She squeezed Fox's arm gratefully and then focused on keeping up with the procession. They were walking directly behind the Hokage, right before the Daimyo's palanquin and Guardians. It was a rather lengthy procession, made up of the Twelve Guardians, the Daimyo attendants, all the leaf ninja participating in the exams, and even more ANBU guards.

There were more ANBU blended into the crowd to make sure the procession went off without a hitch. They've already captured three would-be terrorists and confiscated a couple of guns just last night. But today, thus far the highest security risk was a flying pair of panties toward Naruto's face. The entirety of Konoha's ANBU relieved a collective sigh of relief when the procession made it in one piece to the stadium.

The stadium was huge and had been fitted with the latest technology of television and radios. The Daimyo was attempting to hide giggles in his sleeve before Sakura came over and brushed the confetti from Naruto's hair. Sakura slapped him a bit trying to scrub off the orange glitter.

Then the Daimyo and the Hokage separated. Very few were allowed in the Kage box and each Kage was only allowed to bring a plus one and one guard. Neji Hyuuga escorted the Daimyo to a box of his own which was heavily guarded and occupied by two other Daimyo who had decided they wanted to attend the exams.

Sakura was the Hokage's plus one while ANBU Fox was his guard. All of the Kages were already in attendance and Naruto was extremely pleased to find no one had been stabbed yet. Naruto remembered having a lengthy discussion with Neji about whether or not they should separate the Kages during the Exams but Naruto was adamant against it. Separation bred ignorance.

Every Kage turned their eyes toward the Hokage and it was almost a game to see who Naruto would approach first. Gaara would have been the easy choice as their friendship was well-known but it would display a certain level of favoritism.

Naruto swept right through the room and greeted the Otokage first. It was a bold statement and an obvious declaration of his intentions for the exams. "Otokage-sama, I'm glad you could make it."

"Hokage-sama," Juugo nodded amiably. "I really appreciate you inviting my village and ninja to participate."

"Of course. It is my sincere belief that these Jounin Exams were originally founded to bring us closer together in both respect and understanding. It is my utmost privilege to invite anyone dedicated to maintaining peace within the shinobi world."

From her perch where she had made herself a rock footrest, Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes. "How can you speak of peace when our own civilians are trying to off us?"

"Tsuchikage-sama," Naruto acknowledged. "We can start by acknowledging that we are in part responsible for the militarization of civilians. A vast majority have lost faith in ninja and our services because of the wars we fight among each other. They have come to see us as a threat and the reality is that we are. To pay for our wars, we tax them so heavily until they starve. Innocent lives are lost on our battlefields and lands are made barren. We start by delegitimizing their argument. There will never be lasting peace if we cannot first make peace among ourselves."

"Your peace is fool's gold. We're supposed to just what? Let them kill us?"

"No, but there had to be a better option than the massacre of twelve villages," Naruto snapped. Showing emotion was dangerous in this volatile setting but Naruto was clear to make his displeasure known. Most would let it go unmentioned for fear of instigating any tempers but Naruto could not go silent. Those needless deaths should not go forgotten for the sake of Kurotsuchi's comfort.

Kurotsuchi jumped up from her chair. Her height only reached to Naruto's chest but the tension in the room strained like ninja wire. Every Kage and guard were tensed.

There was only one person who dared to move first. ANBU Fox casually walked from one end of the room to the other and planted himself right between the Hokage and the Tsuchikage. The shock of having some inconsequential ANBU dare to stand in front of her loosened the stone in her chest.

"You might think you can do everything Hokage-sama but not even you can tell me how to run my own country."

"No, I cannot," Naruto said diplomatically. "But that blood is on you."

Kurotsuchi sneered. "So says the Demon Fox who culled an entire clan."

"Only the guilty."

"Guilty, innocent – that's just a matter of perspective." Kurotsuchi snorted, then turned on her heels and dropped into the closest seat with a harrumph.

Kurotsuchi's plus one, a tall statuesque brunette, sat beside Kurotsuchi and pulled the stone Kage into a series of gentle whispers. Homosexuality was outlawed in Iron Country, including alcohol, drugs, and any forms of resistance. It was a very poignant and a very silent declaration Kurotsuchi was making with her date.

Sometimes Kurotsuchi could be a surprising ally and sometimes she could be Naruto's greatest resistance. She was always in a careful state of tiptoeing the line between her own morals and Iron Country's strict doctrine. There were old guards, friends of Oonoki still alive in Earth Country giving her hell and often pushing her into positions she didn't personally believe in but carried out anyways because she was the Tsuchikage.

Gaara who was already seated and seemingly unaffected by anything in the room sat with Temari and Kankurou. Naruto gave the sand-siblings an acknowledging nod. Gaara and Naruto didn't need a formal greeting and didn't bother playing the game with each other.

Naruto walked over to the table of hors d'oeuvres. "Raikage-sama."

"The Exams are never boring," Darui said lazily as he poured himself a bowl of ramen, because obviously Ichiraku was catering. At the Hokage's side, ANBU Fox watched Naruto play the game of politics with grace, unabashed charm, and sometimes, as displayed with Kurotsuchi, boldness enough to call people out on their bullshit. It almost seemed like a room of frenemies than deadly opponents.

Naruto began to fix himself a bowl of ramen while discussing the current affairs in Kumo. Sakura sat down beside Kurotsuchi's date and effortlessly began a conversation. Sakura found to her delight that the other kunoichi was a medic-ninja and a fan of hers. Kurotsuchi couldn't have rolled her eyes harder than a boulder pushed up a mountain.

The Otokage very subtly found himself standing next to ANBU Fox. For a moment, they turned to share a look, before Fox moved from the side of the table to follow the Hokage to his chair.

Naruto leaned over his armchair toward Kurotsuchi and casually attempted to paved over the previous rough edges. "Anyone we should be worried about this year?"

Kurotsuchi lifted her chin stubbornly. Everyone in the room knew that Earth Country had a larger showing than everyone else this year. She said proudly, "There are quite a few Jounin-level ninja that my village had produced. I anticipate Earth Country will do well in these exams. What about your alleged Uchiha? I'm still more likely to believe you've found some random kid and slapped some red contacts onto him."

"And we dyed his hair black and the black flames is one big genjutsu," Naruto added lightly.

Darui slurped up his bowls of noodles with neutral appreciation. "Konoha has known they've had a Uchiha for a long time. He's that boy that's always been under you."

Kurotsuchi and Juugo hadn't interacted much with Tomu or even had him on their radar. Darui noted him but hadn't thought much of it. Only Gaara personally knew Tomu but even Gaara hadn't known Tomu had the sharingan until it was publically announced. Gaara certainly didn't care not to be in on the big secret. He understood.

"Yeah well, every village has it secrets," Naruto shrugged. Juugo couldn't drag his eyes away from the rather large one at the center of the room.

"Does the boy's sudden introduction have anything to do with Orochimaru?" Darui asked. "From what I understand, he still hasn't been accosted after his recent attack on Konoha."

"I'm glad that snake is your problem," Kurotsuchi grumbled.

Suddenly the cheer of the crowd was deafening when Killer Bee walked toward the center of the stadium.

"Yo, yo, yo!" Killer Bee said as the announcer for the event. "The Jounin exams is ready to go!"

* * *

No matter what the group of ninja threw at the black flames, nothing could stop the hell fire's impending approach. It pushed them back further and further into the forest – right into a trap. Ninja wire stretched across boughs like haunting spider webs. Hohei had the conducting end twisted around his index finger and when all of their prey had been caught in his web, he sent lightning along the wire.

An entire section of the forest disappeared momentarily in a flash of light. It completely blinded any nearby cameras until the light faded to reveal a charred landscape and at least a dozen incapacitated ninja. They weren't dead but they certainly weren't getting back up.

Hohei dropped down from the trees just as Tomu hiraishin toward his location. Hohei surveyed their surroundings with the byakugan and without paused immediately shot off toward the west. Tomu followed.

"Group of two lightning ninja. Tahiko and Tajiro Yama," Hohei reported.

"Brothers. Experts at Kenjutsu. Approach with long-range attacks." Tomu noted off from memory. When they neared, Hohei lined the target and pinned a kunai against a tree.

Tomu set his feet and was always mindful not to slip on the frozen branches. Leaf ninja definitely had an advantage in this terrain but even a leaf ninja needed to mind their chakra control when there was ice on the trees.

"Fire Release: I've got 99 problems but you ain't one." Tomu knew that somewhere in the Kage box, Sasuke was shaking his head for naming his new jutsu after one of Killer Bee's songs. Tomu held the fire jutsu as long as he could before it shot from his month like a rocket, crashing through the tree that Hohei had marked and flying a blur right toward the unsuspecting Cloud ninja. It hit him square in his chest, lifted him off his feet, and dropped him on the ground.

The brother turned toward Tomu's direction and searched the forest for his unseen opponent until Hohei dropped down behind him and hit him with a Jyuuken to the neck. Tomu hiraishined toward Hohei's location who immediately started toward their next target.

"Two sand ninja, Asa Motoshige and Noda Renzeo fighting a leaf ninja – Uncle Henji."

"Water jutsu to render their sand useless."

Hohei snapped his hands together into a series of seals as they ran from branch to branch without ever disturbing an inch of snow. "Water Release: Twin Fang Dragons."

The dragons audibly clawed through the forest and blindsided the sand ninja. The wave washed them to their backs. By the time they found their feet, Tomu had already caught them in a genjutsu. Only to the Sand ninja's ears, they heard the bell declaring the end of the exams. They activated the surrender seals. The reverse hiraishin seal that Naruto had created for anyone who needed to bow out took the ninja out of the exams.

The Uncle turned to Hohei in thanks and was attacked with a Jyuuken in welcome. Uncle Henji's shock cost him with a jyuuken to the arm. The uncle's strikes were stronger but Hohei had already won with that first strike. With ease Hohei rendered his kin immobile.

Then Hohei and Tomu were off again, like lightning, laying waste to every opponent they met on the battlefield.

"Kami, did he attack someone from his own clan?" Darui whispered as he watched the duo on the television screen.

"It's the fucking sharingan," Kurotsuchi grumbled. She hadn't believed until she saw it for herself.

Evidently one of the cameramen decided that Tomu and Hohei were such a good show that one television screen had been dedicated entirely to them. Cameras were constantly changing angles to keep up with their devastation. Naruto had wanted Tomu to show off a little but this was certainly an over-exaggerating. But he forgot about the Hohei part of this equation. Hohei might not have wanted to participate in the exams but not only was his hubris as large as any of his clansmen, he also had something to prove.

ANBU Fox watched as the sharingan and the byakugan proved to a be a devastating combination. His mask hid a smirk. If the clan could see this now. He could tell that they've done their homework and were intentionally targeting all the individuals they could take out with ease. Only the top ten percent who survived the exams will earn the coveted title of Jounin. At this rate, the Jounin exams were almost over.

Suddenly Hohei stopped, then swerved and turned in a completely opposite direction. Tomu followed but with an obvious question he never asked.

Naruto sat up in his seat when Hohei and Tomu dropped into a clearing where Hinata stood waiting. Hinata's plan was to simply avoid all of the battles and wait it out until the exam's end. But it seemed someone had other ideas.

"Honorable High Sister," Hohei bowed. "May I request this battle?"

A sincere smile stretched across Hinata's face and she settled into a battle stance. "Be sure to come at me with everything you've got. Let's show the world how much the Hyuuga Clan has changed."

Tomu faded back into the shadows of the forest to make sure no one interfered.

Then it was a flurry of limbs and strikes. Lightning flashed and blinded the television screens. It arced from Hinata's hand and Hohei rolled to dodge. He sprung up with a kick and a release of lightning from the whip of his foot. When none of the hits were able to land, they abandoned mid-range attacks and clashed hand-to-hand.

Naruto watched the battle with intensive focus. He knew Hinata was using this moment to fully showcase to the world the extent of the Hyuuga's new Jyuuken style.

Suddenly the door of the Kage's box opened. Captain Mantis strolled through the room, bowed with his fist to the floor, and whispered into Naruto's ear. "Hokage-sama, is there an assault towards Konoha? Yes, it is being led by Momochi."

"I am so sorry but there is some business I need to take care of," Naruto said as he stretched out of his chair. Every Kage peeled their eyes from the screens to look at Naruto.

"Is there something wrong?" Juugo cautiously asked.

"Momochi is attacking Fire Country. This will only take just a moment. I'll be back before the exams are over."

The silence was deafening. It was information that no one would announce to a room of Kage lest it make him appear weak and reveal the country as vulnerable. Naruto's nonchalance took it to a whole other extreme.

Kurotsuchi broke the silence. "Better watch your back Uzumaki. You don't have the Fox to protect you anymore."

Naruto turned back with a mischievous smile. "I don't need the Fox to protect my country. If you have any doubts, you're certainly welcome to challenge me."

It was an outright dare. Kurotsuchi frowned and could feel the temptation of the offer on her lips. But if she made a move, if she lost, she would be so shamed she would have to give up the hat. She gave a dismissive shrug. "Another time perhaps. See to your pest problem, why don't you?"

ANBU Fox followed the Hokage on his heels and they shut the door behind them. Sakura yawned and for one brief moment met Kurotsuchi's eyes, watching.

With ease, Kurotsuchi could easily excuse herself, send a message to Iwa and tell her men that Fire Country was weak. Now was the time to attack. But she had personally been present for the Fifth Shinobi War and had witnessed Naruto destroy armies all without the Demon Fox. She was no fool.

Neither were any of the others in the room. So they sat back and enjoyed the show.

* * *

An army swept out of the sea like a ghost of Kiri.

From the shadow of the leaves, two leaf ninja watched from the trees as thousands regrouped on the shore and split off into two groups. Kusuro Hatake and the Grass army was spearheading the attack into the forest as they were at more of a terrain advantage than the ninja from Ame. Following closely behind the Grass army was a large contingent of Momochi's forces. Momochi himself had stayed behind on the shore with the other half of his force and planned to move only when Kusuro engaged with the Hokage or his men secured the winding river of Fire Country. From the river, they would march on Konoha.

The first part of the plan was rather simple. The Hokage will take care of the army in the forest and Sasuke would take care of the one on the shore.

As they watched the army march towards them, Naruto's face turned both solemn and determined. "You have my permission to take off your mask."

Sasuke peeled off the ANBU mask and tossed it into a storage a scroll. That order only meant one thing. "Leave none alive?"

A glimmer seeped into Naruto's irises as dark as the deepest depths of the ocean. "I gave them a second chance after the Fifth Shinobi War. I gave them a chance to embrace peace but unfortunately there are those whose understanding is only war and it's brought them back here to the very place where they lost all those years ago. I don't give third chances. Kill them all."

Sasuke didn't flinch back at the command but accepted it as readily and eager as a kiss. Sasuke whispered between them like two lovers in bed, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

A crack of electricity, wild and dangerous, ran between their skin. In that moment, Naruto wondered how he ever considered anyone other than Sasuke his equal.

Sasuke cracked a smug smirk. "Maybe when I finish, I might come help you out."

Snow slapped Naruto in the face when Sasuke flung himself forward and disappeared into the trees. "Teme."

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Kusuro. He certainly wasn't hiding. The boy was sitting cross-legged in a large field that smelled of freshly cut grass. The young rebel had obviously cleared the field himself just a few minutes ago. Naruto smile amused at the sight of Kusuro mimicking the meditative sage pose which harkened back to the days when Naruto attempted to teach the kid how to meditate.

Naruto didn't dare land in the grass clearing but stopped right at the border where the trees were still standing. With ease he balanced on a branch the width of a tightrope.

Kusuro wore a cloth over the bottom half of his face. A hitai-ite with the old symbol of Kusagakure covered his left eye. Kusuro stood with self-possessed brass. "Long time no see, Nii-san."

Naruto chuckled at the boy's antics and appreciated the humor that Kusuro as a kid never gave himself time for after his village was lost.

"You've certainly taken the Hatake surname to heart," Naruto said.

"People take you more seriously when you've got yourself a name. And I never really knew my own dad so…" Kusuro shrugged through his curtain of braids. "What better way to honor the copycat ninja?"

"You're missing the porn."

Kusuro laughed heartily and gave a white smile. It proved to Naruto that yes, letting him go had been for the best. There were smile lines around his eyes and laughs at the corner of his smug smile.

"Perhaps I'll pick some up in Konoha after I kick your butt." Kusuro yanked a kunai from his belt. "Are we going to do this or what? I've been waiting a long time for this."

"Just a second. I'm the one who has to stitch this up when it tears." Naruto shrugged out of his cloak and folded it over his arm. He hitched the Kage hat to his belt. It was almost as if they were back on the sparring fields of the Uzumaki compound on a timid spring afternoon.

If Ame had been his student in seals, Ichigo his student in summons, and Tomu his student at the rasengan, then Kusuro had undoubtedly been his student at wind jutsu. Naruto had the habit of giving little parts of himself to the people that he loved.

* * *

A jolt of lightning sent a pair of glasses flying. They cracked with a crunch when an open palm sent Hohei reeling to the ground. His left leg was still twitching where Hinata had electrocuted several chakra nodes. The entire world was a sudden blur when he looked up. Hinata-sama was a collage of blues and whites, like one of his painted landscapes of the Hyuuga gardens covered in snow.

"Fire Release: Dat Uchiha Swagger."

Hohei immediately rolled under the nearest bushes to avoid Tomu's attack. A multitude of fireballs rained down from the sky like comets. Hinata whipped around with a breath of water so cold, she froze a ball of fire solid. Then she touched it with her Jyuuken. To those who were watching it looked as if she had just tapped it before it exploded in crystal shards.

An arm had come around Hohei's waist and he was dragged toward the blurry red of Tomu's sharingan. Tomu placed something metal and glass into Hohei's hand, one of Hohei's extra pair of glasses Tomu carried just in case. Hohei put on the glasses and said frankly, "I am no longer allowing you to name your own attacks."

Hinata turned toward the both of them and found herself facing an army of Tomu's shadow clones. While Tomu acted as distraction, Hohei swallowed a chakra pill and began to heal his wounds. When he was whole enough to fight, Hohei used the smoke cover from Tomu's dismissed shadow clones to position himself at Hinata's blindspot. Hohei struck out with a devastating Jyuuken.

A kunai went straight through the middle of his hand.

Hohei scrambled back defensively and just barely evaded a bolt of lightning that went past his ear.

"What is this? Two on one?" Tenten walked through the foliage with a cocky swagger. Tenten turned to Hinata and said chirpily. "I could use a partner. I have experience working with a Hyuuga."

Hinata smiled and gave Tenten a soft nod. "I would appreciate your assistance, Weapon's Mistress."

Tenten threw a barrage of weapons. Tomu dropped down in front of Hohei, grabbed him, and hiraishined to the other side of the forest.

An experience ninja knew when to run.

"Are they following us?" Tomu asked in concern.

"No, but they gave each other high-fives," Hohei said sourly as he released his byakugan. He lifted and studied his head critically. He shook his head. "This can't be healed out in the field. My right hand has become a liability. I think we've made enough of a statement. We should lay low until the rest of the exams are over."

Tomu nodded. He hefted Hohei onto his back and searched for an area they could bunker down to their advantage. Hohei sighed into Tomu's shoulder and pouted as moodily and angsty as a Hyuuga could pout, "I've still got a lot of work to do to catch up with her."

"Let's just focus on avoiding them for the rest of the game. Kami bless the unfortunate souls who run across those two."

Hohei nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Momochi, sir. There's a lone figure on the field."

Momochi squinted. He could barely see what his lieutenant was pointing at. He held out his hand for the binoculars and focused the lens on the figure walking out the trees and down the beach as if he was taking a stroll. Momochi's first thought was that the Hokage had sent a messenger - probably to make a deal for him to betray Grass.

But as the figure got closer and Momochi could make out distinguishing features, he realized the man wasn't carrying any emblem that identified him as a messenger. The man continued to stroll forward like a storm rolling in on the clouds.

Some of his ninja began to flip through their bingo books. And as recognition began to dawn on Momochi, panic began to sweep through his men. Those at the front lines began to break rank.

Momochi called to his men to stand their ground. After all, he had learned in Ame that the Uchiha no longer had the sharingan. He was not a threat and this was all some elaborate scheme of the Hokage's.

Then Sasuke Uchiha stopped and welcomed them to Fire Country.

At the sight of the Uchiha's inhale Momochi knew what was coming next. He rushed to order a line of water jutsu. He managed to string together a defensive line of twenty, with more and more adding to the combined water jutsu by the second. When the water jutsu clashed with the Uchiha's fire, the fire was so white-hot that the entire battlefield burst into a cloud of boiling steam. Momochi cursed when he realized he had played right into the Uchiha's hands.

Even though Mist ninja were accustomed to fighting in mist, the heat in the air made it difficult to thread chakra through the gaseous water molecules. As the mist thinned, all Momochi could hear was the dying screams of his men.

* * *

"Grass Release: Death of a Thousand Needles."

The grass in the clearing sharpened into razor edged points, as thin and sharp as senbon needles. It reflected in the sun like glimmering stars fallen on the field. A gust of wind sent them flying straight towards Naruto.

Naruto blocked the needle points with a wind jutsu. The needles bounced harmlessly off his defensive ball of wind. Naruto jumped from the branch and activated sage mode. When he charged forward to close the distance, Kusuro crouched into a ball and a thousand needles flew from his hair.

Again, they deflected harmlessly off Naruto's defense. Naruto bounced back and pinned his feet with chakra to the spine of a tree. Inches down, bladed grass waited just inches from his nose.

"Wind Release: Divine Tornado."

A tornado erupted in the field. The sound of it boomed like an incoming train as it tore apart trees and ripped away any blades of grass Kusuro attempted to summon. Kusuro tried to quell the rampaging tornado but the effort knocked him back and sent him flying.

Kusuro crashed five miles away from the clearing against a tree that snapped branches under his weight. Kusuro groaned when he hit the ground. When he opened his eyes, Naruto appeared out the shadows of the forest with a rasenshuriken shrieking in his hands.

"Grass Release: Cocoon." A tight-threaded weave of grass wrapped around Kusuro the moment before the rasenshuriken connected.

Naruto watched as his jutsu shredded through Kusuro's defense and released the attack just before it could do cellular or any other permanent damage. Clothes shredded and hair seemingly given a bad haircut, Kusuro trembled as he attempted to pick himself up from the last attack. A thousand cuts were bleeding from his arm.

Naruto crossed his arms as he stood over his defeated opponent. "Guess you weren't ready yet. Maybe next time."

Then Kusuro's shoulders began to tremble. His hair was wind-blown. He looked up at Naruto with a wild and rampant laugh. "Nii-san. I've already won."

Kusuro wobbled onto his knees with a bloody grin. And then the truth dawned on Naruto when Kusuro brought his hands together to form a genjutsu release.

"Gen-fucking-jutsu," Naruto cursed.

Naruto startled awake from a dream of his own making right into the tanto at his neck. Naruto followed the metal blade up toward the brilliant red sharingan of Kusuro's left eye. Naruto was outright baffled. It's been a long time since someone has surprised him.

"Kakashi's eye."

"Mom's associates, the ones she would have been meeting with, got a hold of the eye before Konoha got to the scene. I found out about it after I left. I only implanted it a couple of days of ago to keep it a secret from you. You thought you knew everything."

Kusuro leaned forward with a smug grin. "But I know you Naruto. I might not be powerful enough to beat an S-class ninja but I know your weaknesses and I knew with a sharingan you'd never be able to discern a genjutsu."

Naruto surrendered with a soft proud smile. "You won."

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha wound through bodies with the ease and grace of surfing on water. When he jumped into the air, he hovered like a thunderstorm then struck like lightning. The Mist ninja fell as fast as wrecked ships and lost treasure.

Three ninja, bravely or stupidly, rushed him with kunai and shuriken. They were crushed between two earthen pillars that curved from the ground like pincers.

Sasuke rolled and dodged the claws of a Seagull summon, then turned with an Iron Country technique and negated the chakra of an incoming attack.

"Wind release: Wind Funnel." It irked Sasuke to no end he still wasn't as effective with wind jutsu to skip the vocalization but he did enjoy how the different elements moved through his chakra. He sent the cyclone of wind toward the nearest ninja. It knocked the unlucky guy like a golf-ball toward the flying summon overhead.

The large seagull plummeted atop the heads of a large contingent of former Mist ninja.

The air around Sasuke thickened into an impenetrable mist but he wasn't hindered in the least by the lack of visibility. With a casual sigh, Sasuke stabbed his sword behind him to pin a ninja who thought he was being sneaky.

When Sasuke concentrated he could hear the muffled sounds of combined chanting. The ninja were using the mist as a cover to prepare a jutsu. When the mist thinned, a ten-foot wave came crashing towards him.

A pillar of earth shot up from the ground and vaulted Sasuke up and over the wave. Gravity Release hung him suspended in the air where he could see his opponents stumbling around like turtles on the beach below. Sasuke looked to the sky and gave a great aggrieved sigh. With a surrender he said, "Fire Release: Dat Uchiha Swagger."

Comets of fire rained down to completely decimate the frantic formation of Mist ninja. The ocean washed dead corpses to shore. Years later, metal detectors will never cease to beep because they'll never stop finding buried hitai-ite.

Tentacles stretched from the ocean and wrapped tight around Sasuke. He was pulled into the depths of the sea where ninja boots and broken kunai sunk toward the ocean floor.

On all sides, Mist ninja darted towards him.

A long time ago, Sasuke had copied the infamous breathing techniques of Mist ninja that allowed them to breathe underwater for extended periods of time but he had never learned Water Affinity to perform it. Until one day, in the Uzumaki Compound, he was bored with wind jutsu.

"Water Release: Turbulent Whirlpool."

A funnel jetted Sasuke out of the Squid's tentacles and out of range just as the Mist ninja clashed together. The frigid winter air was a shock to the skin when he broke to the surface. Then Sasuke dived back to sea with a full-bodied raikiri. The usual chirp of birds turned into a crazed screech and caws of a flock of crows. He struck the sea as a literal lightning bolt.

Dead fish and cowards floated to the top.

Water dripped from Sasuke clothes as he dragged his feet onto the beach. He kicked a severed tentacle off his leg and wiped back slick strands of hair from his eyes. He could feel his chakra reserves running low. It was time to end this.

The stench of high-voltage ozone and burning bodies clogged Momochi's nose as he watched Sasuke Uchiha walk out of the sea like some drowned god fishermen prayed to. Momochi had just watched one man decimate his entire army. He stood steadfast and did not waver. He's been searching for the face of his death for a long time.

Sasuke didn't bother with fire, or earth, or lightning, or wind, or water. It was a clean kill. Momochi died on the end of his blade.

"They say it was a Momochi that activated your sharingan," Sandayuu said as he hung off the metal skewered through his chest. "A wave always returns."

Sasuke twisted and then kicked Momochi off his sword. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned the blood from his sword. The ocean wind dried through his hair. The sun began to set over a red ocean. There was no one left alive.

Sasuke Uchiha sheathed his sword.

* * *

"I won," Kusuro agreed, then looked down at the tanto at Naruto's neck. He leaned forward and thrust out his hand.

Naruto grinned and accepted the offer. Kusuro pulled the Hokage to his feet, and then pulled Naruto forward by the hand and slammed into him with a hug. Naruto tightened the embrace. Kusuro had grown up tall and had a few inches on Naruto.

"You've gotten so big kid."

"Whatever." Kusuro huffed and shoved away. "I'm not a kid anymore. I've got my own army." Kusuro scrutinized Naruto. "Are you going to keep your promise? You said if I delivered Momochi and finally beat you in battle, you'd give me back Grass Country."

In the distant forest, Naruto could hear as the Grass ninja used the trees as coverage to turn on their former mist allies.

"I don't break my promises Kusuro, and I promised you this a long time ago. When you beat me, I'll let you go home," Naruto said. "Grass Country is yours. Of course there are treaties and papers to sign and what not first."

Kusuro's shoulders dropped in relief and the rest of the tension eased. He had been nervous that there was the small chance Naruto would go back on his word. He was glad his fears were unfounded. Kusuro dragged his fingers through his now short hair. "How is everyone? How is Tomu?"

"Hey, Tomu is in the exams. If we hurry you might be able to catch the last of it."

"But what about Momochi?" Kusuro asked. "Are you sure he's been handled?"

A kunai suddenly flew over his shoulder. Naruto plucked it out the air with an eye roll. Kusuro whipped around to search for the attacker and prepared for a fight. Naruto squeeze a hand on Kusuro shoulder before moving past him toward the ANBU sitting cross-legged on a fallen tree. Kusuro hadn't even noticed him there. Even though Naruto had signaled this was an ally and Naruto probably wouldn't give a fox mask to someone he didn't trust, Kusuro was still on guard.

"Shit, how long was I in that genjutsu?" Naruto asked the both of them.

"Long enough to consider putting a sword through the kid's back." ANBU Fox grunted. "The boy's lucky you told me everything you were scheming."

"So you just sat back and watched me lose?" Naruto pouted as he walked over to the ANBU with an almost bounce in his step.

The ANBU snickered. "You mean watched you get your ass kicked by a child?"

Kusuro relaxed because Naruto obviously wasn't greeting this guy with a shadow clone to the face. He crossed his arms and already decided he didn't like this guy. Still, Kusuro watched the ANBU and the Kage together in almost morbid fascination. Naruto could have been in his apartment dancing around in his boxers, which Kusuro has seen, for how comfortable Naruto seemed to be in the middle of the battlefield.

Naruto cuffed the back of the ANBU's head before softening his grip and visually checking over him for any wounds. Half his hair was still wet and the other half was stuck up at odd angles. Naruto futilely tried to pat it down before the ANBU slapped his hand away, who then turned with arms crossed. His entire body language screamed annoyance but Naruto just ignored it as if by default and finally asked, "Momochi is handled?"

"Everything is handled." the ANBU said with promise.

"Bullshit." The word just fell from Kusuro's lips. "You're telling me this guy took care of Momochi and his army all by himself? Who is he?"

Naruto was real smug when he tapped his left eye and indicated Kusuro's sharingan. "We've both been keeping secrets."

"Fair," Kusuro grumbled. Whatever. He'll get it out of Tomu later.

Naruto leaned toward ANBU Fox and whispered, "You going to be okay with his sharingan?"

"Technically he stole it. It makes him no better than Danzou."

"He's not Danzou. Give him a chance. He's a good kid. He's one of my kids and he's come home. Be nice, please." Sasuke gave him a withering glare Naruto could feel even through the mask.

Suddenly Akiko, better known as Asami Nara, appeared in the field. Asami broke her henge and bowed to the Kage she hasn't seen since he placed her on this mission to deliver a deal to Kusuro almost two years ago. "Grass has finished subduing the remains of the mist army in the forest."

"It's good to see you, Asami. Take this message with my seal and send it to Konoha to request a medical team for any Grass ninja wounded in the battle. After everyone has seen medical attention, head to the river and make camp there until the end of the exams."

"Hokage-sama." Asami took the letter. She looked to Kusuro for several seconds and then headed across the torn clearing.

Naruto slammed an arm around Kusuro's shoulders. ANBU Fox placed his hand onto the inset of Naruto's elbow, much like how a blind man held a guide, and then they hiraishined back to the exams.

Kusuro fixed his hair in the mirror in the hallway. Fox wiped the blood from his mask. Naruto put his cloak back onto his shoulders and his hat back on his head. They walked into the Kage box right as Tenten was mauling someone with a giant mace on the television screen.

Darui stated the obvious, "That's not Momochi."

"Momochi is dead. This is Kusuro, the grandson of the last Kusakage. For his help in apprehending Momochi, Konoha has agreed to hand over the region of Grass back to his lineage. Soon, he'll be the Yondaime Kusakage."

"Well fuck me, another Kage." Kurotsuchi groaned.

Honestly, Naruto didn't know if introducing another Kage was healthy to the current political landscape. But it was the turbulence of the Fifth Shinobi War that caught Grass up in its fighting. Naruto couldn't save them all those years ago but maybe he could save them now.

The world might come to a head years down the line but for right now, including himself, Gaara, Juugo, and Kusuro - That was four Kage's dedicated to peace. Darui was always a crapshoot but there was a mutual respect bred between their ninja and past collaborations over recent years. Kurotsuchi was trying.

Sudden bells signaled the end of the exams. The ninja used their seals to hiraishin to the large seal etched into the center of the stadium. Killer Bee conducted the short ceremony that officially recognized and acknowledged the ninja as Jounin.

Iwa had the most number of Shinobi to become Jounin, a number that put a small smile on Kurotsuchi's otherwise stony expression. Even though Iwa graduated with the most and Sound graduated with their first Jounin to ever be legalized by the exams, it was the Konoha ninja that the audience will remember. They had been as unforgettable as their Kage.

They will remember the Weapon's Mistress and her proficiency with every weapon in existence. They will remember the Hyuuga Clan Head debut a new form of Jyuuken. They will remember the effortless teamwork between the Sharingan and Byakugan pair. By the exam's end, they have already been named the Yin-yang Duo.

After the ceremony, the stage was cleared, the stadium went dark, and then Killer Bee performed the concert of the century.

All the new Jounin were given standing seats right in front of the stage. Those who participated in the exams but didn't make it to the end had been assigned the next best seats. The sound was muffled in the Kage box but could be heard clearly through the speakers built into the room.

"Whether we agree or disagree, it's time we ask ourselves, does the world really need shinobi?!"

Darui sunk in his chair so low it was a wonder how he didn't fall out if it. Darui grumbled, "I told him not perform this song."

"Perhaps if you place more regulations on their freedom of speech, you'd have better control over your ninja," Kurotsuchi criticized.

"Kumogakure was founded on the freedom of speech. It's the very principle that gave birth to our music culture no matter how much I might disagree." Darui was always a constant state of nonchalance and indifference, but he was woken up a bit by Kurotsuchi's criticism. "I'd like to see you attempt to tell KB what to do."

Kumo was one of the rare villages where its strongest ninja wasn't its Kage. The years Killer Bee was in Konoha allowed Darui the time to assert his rule, but ultimately, Killer Bee was the heart and sometimes the conscious of Kumogakure. He pretty much did what he damn well pleased.

Naruto cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, effectively cutting through the tension building between Darui and Kurotsuchi. "While we are all here, we could draw up a new peace treaty to include both the Otokage and Kusakage." The last peace treaty was only between the Kage of the Greater Shinobi Nations but their wars affected the lesser nations as well. Naruto believed it was only right for them to be included.

Most of the Kages didn't really care about the Kusakage – he was new and untested. But politically, they were eager to sign a treaty with the Otokage. Even though the Land of Sound was smaller than all of the Greater Shinobi Nation, over the years it has blossomed into an economic powerhouse that could rival any of them.

To most people in that stadium, they will remember the concert. To some, they will remember it as the moment they became a Jounin. Not even the Kages at the time really understood the significance of one signature. To Darui, it was indifference. To Juugo, it was a conviction. To Gaara, it was his duty. To Kusuro, it was a promise. To Kurotsuchi, it was just another empty peace treaty. And to Naruto, it was a dream.

But hundreds of years later, generations will look back on this moment and remember those six signatures. For even though there were disagreements and small skirmishes since then, the world would never again know another full-scale shinobi war.

* * *

Kusuro was already tired just from dealing with the stress and proximity of the other Kages. Juugo seemed nice and sincere. Darui was indifferent, the sort of indifference that made you feel insignificant and Kusuro couldn't tell if it was just him or the Raikage's natural state. Gaara's passive aggressiveness was terrifying and Kurotsuchi's outright aggression was a wary tumble of rocks. And it was almost awe-inspiring how Naruto could wrangle all of those personalities and bend them to his will. Thankfully they were drafting a peace treaty and not a trade agreement because Naruto expected him to be a Kage and act like it. But it was so easy to get caught up in the direction of Naruto's will. Interacting with him was sometimes akin to swimming upstream in a river during rapids. Swimming against the current seemed an impossible task but sometimes moving that inch was worth it.

Personally, he wasn't fully on Naruto's peace shtick but he had promised his mother that Grass would never again be a battlefield for another's war. Kusuro preferred peace but he would protect Grass by force if he had to. Once Grass Country was turned over and promises were kept, Kusuro hoped to ask Naruto to mentor him. In order to survive, he desperately needed swimming lessons.

Kusuro was so lost in thought as he walked down the hallway toward Tomu's room that he never saw it coming. He was slammed head first into the wall and dragged by his hair into the adjacent room. His hands were immediately yanked behind his back, tied with ninja wire, and prevented from moving at all. He couldn't make a hand seal or move for a kunai. But Kusuro was proficient with a few of his kekkai genkai to perform a few jutsu without a handseal.

But before he could vocalize the first word, the tip of a kunai pressed close to his throat. His mind ran with all the possibilities of who might want to assassinate him – everyone he supposed. He hasn't felt this helpless since the destruction of his village.

Kusuro was turned over and his head hit the floor so hard he at first thought he was hallucinating the Leaf ANBU mask until he finally recognized the Fox. "You," he said confused.

The ANBU took off his mask. Every good Kage had his bingo book memorized. Kusuro jaw hinged in shock. " _You_."

The ninja wire cut into Kusuro's skin as he attempted to struggle with a racing heart. Did Naruto know who was this was? Was Naruto in danger? He had to warn him.

"Keep struggling and I'll have to hurt you. If I hurt you, then Tomu will be displeased."

"Tomu? Huh?" Kusuro asked as he stared wide-eyed at the most wanted criminal in all the Four Shinobi Nations besides Orochimaru. Then Kusuro remembered how Naruto treated the ANBU out on the battlefield. They were friendly. _Naruto knew_.

Kusuro's entire approach changed. "So you're Otou-san's wayward student?"

"Cut the bullshit," Sasuke said. He had watched the revelations quickly flash across the young man's face. Even now, Kusuro turned cocky. Kusuro thought Sasuke wasn't going to hurt him. It was time to fix that. Sasuke leaned forward and stabbed his thumb into Kusuro left eye.

Sasuke tightened his hand around Kusuro's throat to keep him from screaming. "That sharingan does not belong to you and I will not allow it to be used against my family. If you ever betray Naruto, if you ever harm Tomu with that eye, I will personally find you and rip it from your socket. Then I will kill you slowly and burn your country to the ground. Do you understand?"

Kusuro shakily nodded and finally felt as if he could breathe when Sasuke pulled his hand off his eye. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and said darkly, "And if you tell Tomu or Naruto that we had this conversation, I'll rip the eye out anyways."

Kusuro flinched at the sound of the door slamming close as Sasuke Uchiha left. The Kusakage laid in the servant's closet for several seconds trying to regain his composure.

"Asshole."

* * *

They had a couple of hours before the ball. As the Hokage entered his suite, he noticed a shadowed figure behind the curtains of the balcony. Naruto walked outside to Kurotsuchi kicking her legs as she sat on the balcony railing.

Naruto walked over. Below, the capital was a festival of lights. "You're going to stay in the capital?"

"No, I'm going home tonight." Kurotsuchi turned and narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "You better make sure nothing happens to my ninja."

"I'll take care of them," Naruto promised. He glanced down at Kurotsuchi and wondered why the Tsuchikage was here outside of his room.

Kurotsuchi looked up. At home there would be mountain ranges her eyes could always meander over but here there was nothing but sky and stars. "I didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice."

"There was no choice," Kurotsuchi snapped so hard. "Or you'd be dealing with my uncle right now."

"Stepping down as Kage is a choice."

Kurotsuchi scoffed. "I can't abandon Earth Country to those old fools. I'm not proud of those empty villages but Earth Country has already been through a civil war. We can't afford another one." Kurotsuchi dropped her shoulders in frustration. "I don't get it. How do they love you so much? I travel through my own countryside and they throw stones at me."

"It's because I listen to them. It's so easy as a Kage to focus only on the needs of your ninja but civilians live in your ninja village too. Farmers hire the genin, merchants hire the chuunin, and lords hire the Jounin. They are as much an important part of our system as a Kage."

"Deidara tried to tell me when we were on the same genin team. His parents were civilians and he fought for their rights. He tried to me warn me that a system that oppresses the civilians could not last. And in the end, he was labeled a traitor and a terrorist. He was right. But how do you fix it when everyone is so adamant to doing things the old way?"

Naruto bit his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Do you want to know a secret? I don't know if it's possible for peace to last. But I have to try. Because my kids are going to have to inherit this world that I leave behind. And I want it to be a better one. It's nothing but a dream and seemingly as impossible as a jinchuuriki becoming Hokage but I'll never stop reaching for it."

"So you think this peace is optimistic bullshit too? Good, I thought I was the only sane one in that room."

Naruto chuckled, "That's not exactly what I said." He placed his hands in his pockets and asked. "What do you want, Kurotsuchi?"

Kurotsuchi looked at Naruto outright. "I want what you have. I want to be loved. That's never going to happen with the old guard standing in my way." Then her expression turned stony. "I want them dead." Kurotsuchi glanced over at Naruto with a thoughtful smile. "How much would it cost for Konoha to assassinate several high-ranking members in Iwagakure's council? I'd do it, but I cannot afford any assassination attempt to link back to me. Nor will I be able to assist you with it. This moment is the last time we'll ever talk about it."

"But if something goes wrong, Konoha takes the fall and that's cause for war."

"Then don't mess up. You want your peace? Help me take out the very people keeping Earth Country in the past."

Naruto closed his eyes and thought the offer over. Immediately his mind considered who could perform the job. It was a mission that could likely take years just to integrate into Iwagakure and get close to the council members. But even Naruto had to admit, having them out of the way would go a long way to stabilizing Earth Country and the shinobi world at large.

In the dark night of the Jounin Exams, the Hokage and Ichikage made a deal. Naruto said frankly, "It's going to cost you. Konoha has pinged Sasuke Uchiha's location and I want to bring him back to Konoha for rehabilitation."

Kurotsuchi was completely taken aback. She was expecting an exorbitant number. "You mean the man who is rumored to have killed my grandfather? No, I want him dead. Why?"

In all honesty, it was a very good question that Naruto didn't have the answer for. "He's my Deidara."

"He killed Deidara."

Terrible choice of words. Naruto shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "That's my price – not money, or future favors, just forgiveness."

"That's not easy."

"Believe me, I know."

"By when does this have to be done?"

"I will plant false evidence on one of the council members and you can have a member of your choice killed for the assassination of Oonoki. Any evidence that Sasuke had anything to do with it needs to be destroyed the moment you return to Earth Country."

"Do you take me for a fool? How do I know you're going to keep your promise? How do I-" Kurotsuchi stared at Naruto. Sasuke Uchiha hasn't been seen or heard from in about a year. There was only one reason why Naruto would need Earth Country to overlook Sasuke Uchiha's past actions so soon. "He's already in Konoha."

"Why?" Kurotsuchi demanded, almost angrily. "Alright, I get the peace bullshit but you're willing to risk a war for one person? You're willing to risk all of Konoha for that insane psychopath?"

When framed like that, Naruto did see the insanity of this. He was scaring himself how far he would go. All Naruto could pathetically answer was, "He deserves a second chance."

Kurotsuchi scoffed and shook her head. If she couldn't have the Uchiha dead, she wanted the next best thing. She wished him a life of misery."You're an idiot, Naruto Uzumaki. I'll forgive Uchiha and keep the evidence in my own records on one condition: He never becomes a ninja again. He hangs up the hitai-ite, sheathes the katana, and foregoes all missions. His second chance is as a civilian. And if I find out he remains a ninja, I will dust off that evidence and conduct a manhunt until I have his head. I believe a ninja can't have peace but maybe you'll prove me wrong." Kurotsuchi raised a knowing eyebrow. " Can you convince him to give all that up?"

Honestly, Naruto didn't know.

* * *

Tomu was still reciting lyrics in his head from the concert as he got dressed for the ball. All leaf participants were required to attend the ball before being set free to do whatever they wanted afterwards.

There was a knock on the door.

Tomu tensed. Hohei had just left to retrieve his clothes and take a shower in his room. Naruto would have hiraishined in. Sasuke wouldn't have knocked. Tomu pulled a kunai out from underneath his pillow and carefully stalked to the door.

Tomu was taken aback for a moment to open his door and find Kusuro Hatake standing in his doorway. The last time they saw each other was in the Valley of the End.

"Hey," Kusuro said nervously, without any of the bravado he reserved for strangers.

"Hey," Tomu said automatically. Then he inwardly cursed. "What was your mother's favorite brand of cigarettes?"

"What is this? Some kind of security question?"

"Just answer it."

"Grass."

Tomu breathed out in relief and then out in awe. "It really is you."

"What? No hug, nii-san?" Kusuro asked. Tomu shook his head and dragged Kusuro into a tight embrace.

"So I'm guessing the whole invasion was one giant bluff?"

Kusuro grinned. "A lot happened during the exams. I manipulated Momochi into attacking Konoha, I became Kusakage, and I signed peace treaties."

Tomu widened his door and suggested, "How about we start from the beginning?"

While Tomu threw on the layers of his kimono, Kusuro flopped on the bed and promptly explained how Naruto had sent Asami to him a year ago with a message and a deal. After the explanation, Tomu stewed in silence. "Naruto had once tasked me with bringing down Momochi. He had said that he was preparing a contact who could get Momochi to make a move out of Konoha. That was you wasn't?"

"It helped in the end. It made Momochi more desperate to contact me," Kuruso said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Naruto seriously didn't tell you?"

"Hah, unless I'm involved, no. Sometimes Naruto treats his schemes like pranks. To him, it's not fun unless it's a surprise."

"Congratulations on the Jounin thing."

Tomu snorted with a laugh. "Congratulations on the Kage thing. It's good to see you. It's really good to see you. I'm glad you sided with us, despite the crap Konoha has given you in the past."

Kusuro chuckled softly. "While I was trying to recruit people to the cause, do you know the only condition that the people had? They were all willing to destroy Konoha to retake Grass, but don't hurt Naruto and don't hurt his kids. Naruto treats them well and he's also taken in a lot of grass orphans. It's a little intimidating to try and be even an ounce of the Kage he is. If I could regain Grass Country without a lot of bloodshed, that was the option I had to take. In the end, I sided with Naruto, not Konoha."

"So what's next?" Tomu asked.

Kusuro said thoughtfully, "I've got a bunch of papers to sign and Naruto's hasn't yet announced to the council that he's giving up a whole chunk of Fire Country."

"That's not going to go over too well," Tomu foresaw even if Naruto played it as a reward to Kusuro for helping to catch Momochi. "By Konoha law, a Kage can't give up land. He's needs a vote of the council."

"Naruto promises he'll have the votes but I'll be staying in Konoha until it goes through. Afterwards, I guess I'll rebuild. Maybe I'll stay in the compound like old times."

"There are six children currently sleeping in your room," Tomu warned.

Kusuro laughed. "I can't wait to see Ame and Ichigo. They're probably huge by now."

"Ame is worse with the pranks than Naruto. Watch your back. Ichigo talks more. He's engaged by the way."

"What?"

Tomu filled Kusuro in on everything going on with the clan as much as he could before the door knocked and Hohei entered with one word, "Pink."

"Hey Hohei, you remember Kusuro?"

Hohei gave a nod of acknowledgement. "We're late."

Tomu tied his belt and finished putting on the kimono he was only going to take off in an hour. Then they walked down the hallway to the large ballroom. The entire canopy was golden inlays and majestic paintings. Tomu immediately made a beeline for the expensive wine. Hohei broke off and had to give his customary greeting to the Clan Head across the room.

"This is going to be terribly boring," Kusuro said as he grabbed a cup of wine. As a Kage, he knew he should be socializing. "For the most part, I've been rotating through underground bunkers for years. All of this pomp makes me gag."

"Hohei and I are going to check out a few of the parties after this. You should come."

Kusuro rolled his eyes and echoed, Naruto's words. "I'm a Kage. I have to stay until the end of this dinner and then I need Naruto to return me to my men. No night of debauchery for me." Kusuro picked up another glass of wine. "Perhaps another time. But hey, what's up with all the security questions?"

"Orochimaru," Tomu grumbled.

Kusuro immediately regretted bringing it up. "I heard about Mushi. I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Tomu said as he leaned against the wall. "Got anyone special?"

Kusuro flushed bright red. "Asami and I have been seeing a lot of each other." Tomu elbowed him in the rib with a congratulatory grin. "But I don't know how that's supposed to work out since I'm a Kage now and you never know, it could have just been a mission for her. I know she had a thing for Naruto a while back."

"Believe me, Asami Nara has longed moved on from Naruto," Tomu said. He remembered the last time he had seen the kunoichi before she left on some long-term mission.

Kusuro told him, "She's been writing fanfiction to the Icha Icha series starring Naruto for the past year. She doesn't use his name but – blonde hair and whiskers? And I've been stuck proofreading it."

Tomu almost laughed the wine out his nose.

"I just don't know how things stand between us."

Tomu nudged Kusuro encouragingly, after cleaning up after his messy laugh. "Some people believe that things will work out. They take life for granted. If you love her, make it work." And then Tomu realized something. "Oh, your men aren't the only thing you're trying to get to tonight."

Kusuro blush grew deeper. Tomu grabbed another glass of wine from the waiter and suggested a toast, "To whatever the fuck life still has in store for us: to the ups and downs, to the crossroads and reunions, to the loves and losses."

Their glasses chimed and they drank deeply.

Tomu knew the moment Naruto entered the ballroom. The room was immediately lit with gossip. Tomu turned to the sight of Amaru wearing a beautiful green gown that had her glowing beside the Hokage. Naruto went to speak with the Daimyo first, and as expectant of him at these functions, made the rounds of their political and financial allies.

"Are they together?" Kusuro asked curiously.

"Not for long." Tomu shrugged. "She's nice but I don't think she's the one. Naruto broke up with Hinata not that long ago. Seems to me he's playing safe for the moment. Perhaps that's what he needs right now but she's not the long run."

Just as Tomu said the words, Sasuke began sauntering towards him as if this entire ball had been thrown for him and he just couldn't be bothered. Sasuke wasn't wearing his Fox ANBU gear. Most of the ANBU in the room were keeping a low-profile and disguised in a henge and kimono. Sasuke was wearing his usual 'Tomu's uncle' henge. It was a familiar one that some have seen before and one people could easily believe that a relative came up to the capital to celebrate Tomu's success in the exams.

For a moment, Tomu had a moment of panic on how to introduce Kusuro to Sasuke. When Kusuro tensed beside him, Tomu immediately realized there was no need. Tomu looked at Kusuro who began studying his shoe. Tomu immediately stabbed a finger into Sasuke's chest.

"What did you do? Did you hurt him?" Kusuro stared at Tomu's finger as if he was poking a rabid dog.

Sasuke mocked in Kusuro's direction. "Did I hurt you?"

Kusuro crossed his arms. "Tomu, what the fuck? How can you have this psychopath so close to Naruto? Didn't he try to kill his entire genin team at one point?"

"One more word and I'll cut your neck with the escargot."

Kusuro took a step forward aggressively. And that one move set Sasuke completely off.

"Oops," Tomu sputtered loudly and watched the wine drip down the front of Kusuro's kimono. Tomu pressed the empty glass against Kusuro's chest and dragged Sasuke out by the arm. Tomu pushed Sasuke into the wall of the hallway. "Naruto already made a lot of unnecessary risks to allow you to be here. You need to control yourself. Just one night, Sasuke. Just keep it together one night. Kusuro is not a threat."

Kusuro passed them in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. "I'll buy you another one," Tomu said apologetically.

"Not if he kills you first," Kusuro grumbled. Like two bijuu bombs aimed at one another, Sasuke and Kusuro locked eyes until Kusuro reached the end of the hallway.

Tomu shook Sasuke by his collar. "He doesn't know you. He only knows your reputation. You're the one who is going to have to make nice."

Sasuke shoved Tomu off of him and walked back into the ballroom. Tomu rubbed his forehead. Figured those two would react like fire to a dry field. Tomu re-entered the ball and found Sasuke literally sulking in a corner.

"What happened?" Hohei asked.

"My cousin is such a people person," Tomu answered sarcastically.

"I believe we have been present for the obligatory hour. Shall we leave?" Hohei suggested.

"Yes," Tomu needed a real drink and wanted to find wherever Killer Bee's after party was. Tomu quickly caught Naruto's eye and signaled that he was leaving. They Tomu stopped by the bathroom where the wine stain was still prominent on Kusuro's kimono no matter how much he attempted to wipe it off. "Are you sure you don't want to come? Once you're really a Kage you won't be able to fraternize with us common people. You can do the politics later."

"Naruto is going to kill me."

"It's not your fault you got wine on your kimono and you have no other attire appropriate enough for a ball. It's not like you can rub elbows with the Daimyo with that stain on your chest."

"Good point. Let's get wasted."

* * *

Sasuke couldn't explain it but he was getting a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. The Jounin Exams had gone off without a hitch. Konoha had repelled Momochi and his army. Something bad was bound to happen. Sasuke could only hold his head and dread.

A heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder. Usually he didn't feel comfortable with anyone touching him other than Naruto or Tomu. Sometimes Hohei when he was in the mood. But this touch was a familiar one and had once attempted to anchor him a long time ago.

Sasuke pulled his hands from his head and looked up toward the Otokage. Juugo smiled softly, careful in his approach, as if tending to a broken bird. "It's been a long time."

Sasuke had been avoiding the Otokage but he was almost glad for the distraction now. He knew they needed to talk but they needed somewhere private. "We'll talk. Just a moment," Sasuke promised.

He stood up and took a moment to look around the room for Tomu. A chill went up the back of his spine. Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic.

"Naruto."

Sasuke had completely interrupted Naruto mid-conversation with the Minister of Finance. Even Amaru, who dutifully endured the long conversations as his date, looked at Sasuke with blatant reproach. No one this entire evening had used Naruto's name but had rather addressed him by his title.

Naruto gave his company an apologetic smile. "Excuse me," and then pulled Sasuke to a emptier section of the room.

"Where's Tomu?" Sasuke immediately asked.

"He left with Hohei just a few minutes ago. They've probably gone to party."

Sasuke frowned. "He didn't tell me."

Naruto cracked a grin. "No offense, but the uncool cousin babysitting them all night probably isn't Tomu's idea of fun."

"I'm cool." Sasuke huffed.

Naruto's sudden laughter was like a beacon. Heads turned to see what had the Hokage in such good spirits. Naruto slapped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "You keep thinking that."

Sasuke shrugged off Naruto's hand with a roll of the shoulder. He immediately felt lighter in the face of their familiar teasing. He looked back at the Otokage uncertainly. He should be 'babysitting' Tomu.

"Tomu will be fine," Naruto said, reading Sasuke's expression. "He has Hohei and most likely Kusuro and I have other people watching him. Go catch up with Juugo. You two probably haven't seen each other in years. If you want privacy, you can take him up to my suite if you want to."

"I don't know. Everything went right today."

Naruto threw his hands up in exasperation. "Yes, something will go wrong because eventually something always goes wrong but you worrying about it isn't going to help it happen any sooner. Stop worrying about the things we have no control over."

"I know. _I know._ " Logically, Sasuke knew all of this. But it didn't lessen the paranoia. It didn't control the dread. It didn't make him feel better.

Naruto stepped forward, their foreheads almost touching, and smoothed his hand down Sasuke's arm. Naruto could feel the way that Sasuke melted into his touch and it was almost alarming how Sasuke easily surrendered to him. Naruto whispered between them, "I can make a shadow clone and we can leave right now. We can go spar until we're too tired to think anymore. Or we can lock ourselves in my suite with a few bottles of sake."

"That last one seems rather suggestive."

Naruto paused, and then punched Sasuke in the shoulder. "You know what I mean."

It was so tempting to pull Naruto away from everything, to steal him away for himself, to be selfish for just a few moments. But Sasuke knew he needed to talk with Juugo and didn't know the next time he'd get a chance to see the Otokage. "No, I need to have this talk. Besides, I thought you were finally getting laid tonight."

Naruto flinched back with a rare showing of cockiness. "I'm the Hokage. If I want some, I can get some."

"You keep thinking that."

Naruto laughed as Sasuke threw his words back at his face. "And don't think I didn't miss the whole wine disaster between you and Kusuro."

Sasuke threw his hands up in faux innocence as he began to walking backwards. "Both you and Tomu are so dramatic. I didn't _hurt_ him."

They shared a smile before Naruto turned, and all of a sudden, it was as if Naruto had walked into a wall. A bubble had burst. It was so jarring to realize that everyone in the ballroom, although they couldn't hear them, had been watching their conversation. It unsettled Naruto that he had lost focus so easily when he was usually very aware of his surroundings. It left Naruto with a bad taste in his mouth for the rest of the evening. How could he have been so careless? It was as if that conversation was its own world and no one else existed.

Naruto forced a smile on his face as if nothing was the matter and walked to rejoin Amaru. In the corner of his eye, Sasuke and Juugo left through the main door.

"Who is he?" Amaru asked curiously.

"That's Tomu's uncle. He came up from the countryside to live in Konoha not too long ago."

"And Tomu's countryside uncle knows the Otokage?" Naruto looked down at Amaru blankly, almost taken aback she called him on the bullshit. Usually he'd laugh it off or give a smooth reply in response but he was hesitating. Why was he feeling so flustered?

"Undercover ANBU," Naruto said, a little too sharply than he meant to. "I'm going to go and get some food." He excused himself and rushed toward the table. Then inwardly cursed when his body instinctively sent him steering towards Hinata. She was by the chocolate fountain, casually dipping strawberries.

"Real smooth," Hinata complimented as she immaculately took a bite of her strawberry. Naruto didn't even dare lest he get chocolate all over his Kage's cloak. He went with the safe choice of shrimp and cheese cubes. "You'd think you of all people would know better than not to flirt with someone else in front of your date."

"We're not flirting."

Hinata gave him one of those looks. "Naruto, you don't abandon everything for just anyone."

"I don't-" Naruto was a busy person and he gave his time to those who meant something. A creeping sense of terror twist through his gut at what Hinata was implying. His grip tightened on the table and he suddenly didn't know if he could push himself through the rest of this ball. Something was wrong with him. Something had to be wrong with him. He looked at Hinata and the words cast from his lips like a lifeline. "Let's go somewhere alone."

"I'm trying to work things out with Neji." Hinata glanced at him out the corner of her eye. "You'll regret it."

"Please."

Hinata looked up at Naruto and she couldn't ignore the swarm of emotions she had for him, even if it would be stupid and idiotic in the long road. "I'll meet you in ten."

Naruto nodded. Without any word to anyone, without a tossed goodbye, the Hokage walked out of the ballroom.

* * *

Sasuke led the Otokage to the Hokage's suite. These rooms were private and warded from eavesdropping. Sasuke entered the suite as if he owned the placed, dropped his henge, and led Juugo to the tea room. Sasuke shuffled through the small kitchenette and frowned, but not surprised, to find Naruto didn't keep any tea. Instead, the entire cabinet was stuffed with cups of ramen. Ame had banned the cheap stuff from the compound a long time ago.

Sasuke looked behind him as Juugo sat in one of the armchairs, too big to fit comfortably on the floor. Then, Sasuke scooped out the entire cups of ramen and stuffed them under the cushions of one of the couches. Juugo just looked at him.

"Is water alright?" Sasuke asked casually, as if he hadn't just hidden all of Naruto's secret stash.

"That's fine," Juugo said with a soft smile as he watched Sasuke's every move. Sasuke handed Juugo a cup of water and sat in the opposing armchair. The large window spilled moonlight throughout the tea room and overlooked a traditional garden. The koi rotating endlessly around the reflections of the moon.

Sasuke didn't know where to start. He and Juugo have always talked in silence.

"You looked healthy," Juugo said softly.

Sasuke scoffed. He crossed his legs and leaned into the armchair. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For everything. For you, Suigetsu, and Karin." In the end, they all had been batshit insane, probably Juugo the least among them. "Perhaps I could have made a difference if I had treated you all like a real team, if I had treated you all like people, instead of tools like Orochimaru. Perhaps then, you wouldn't be the only one left."

"I'm not the only one left."

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling to find a flutter of birds flying through a painted sky. When he shifted, he crunched the cups of ramen underneath his butt.

"I meant what I said before. You look better. Like you're finally getting the help you need."

"Yeah, I feel better. Sometimes." Sasuke closed his eyes with a shudder. Sometimes. "What about you? Are you getting the help you need?"

"Konoha has helped me finally get my medication right. I don't go off on rampages anymore. I no longer need someone else to balance me. I can balance myself and that's freedom and peace I've never expected. It's good."

Sasuke nodded. "Good."

What did they talk about now? Thankfully, Juugo could see him struggling. "Why did you go back to Konoha?"

"I didn't have a choice."

"Why did you stay?"

"Because I made a choice," Sasuke tucked his legs up into the armchair. "You're a Kage."

"They say I'm a good Kage. It surprises me."

"I'm not. You're good person, Juugo."

"You are too."

Sasuke smiled sadly. "Sometimes."

They both reveled in the silence for some time before Juugo said, "You're in love with him."

"Hn." Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at Juugo thoughtfully. It was odd. Juugo had previous relations with Kimimaro and was as gay as he was, but Sasuke wasn't attracted to him. Even entertaining the idea was off-putting. Perhaps it was Sasuke's ego but he didn't like the drastic physical difference. It made him feel uneven.

"Are you two…?"

"No. It doesn't matter," Sasuke said softly. "He's scared. I'm scared. I'm scared that we'll never have a future to work it all out. I'm scared we won't be granted the time to continue healing. I'm scared we'll never get the chance to try." Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm scared I'm never again going to be whole. What if all of this is pointless and I'm incapable of healing?"

"Sasuke," Juugo's voice jolted him softly. "You are. I see it. You've already come so far."

Sasuke didn't know he needed the encouragement until he heard it. This journey of finding the person he was before the world had broken him was more difficult than stepping out the gates of Konoha. Sasuke tapped his fingers against his cup, a bad habit he was picking up from Sakura.

Sasuke asked self-conscious and wary of rejection, "I want to be friends."

"We always were, Sasuke."

Then they did what they did best. Together, they conversed in the silence.

* * *

Naruto had kissed her as if he could put back the memories of their lives. He had forced their bodies together as if her pieces could fix him, forgetting that they no longer fit together anymore. But it was like going back in time when they did fit, when they were both lost with everything but each other, when their love had once been enough. Her scent filled his nose again and sent him shivering through the encounter. The orgasm was like coming home.

Only to remember, when it was all over, she was no longer his home anymore.

Naruto pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes and immediately jumped out of the bed. He tripped on the sheets tangled around his legs. He reached for his clothes, as if reaching for anything that could help pull him from this disaster.

"Naruto," Hinata whispered from her side of the bed. Naruto stopped, and his breath paused. "Told you you'd regret it."

And the worst part, the very worst part, was the hoping that she'd ask him to stay.

"This is all your fault," Naruto turned to snap at her. "We could have worked out. We could have been happy. And then I wouldn't be _falling in love_ with Sasuke Uchiha." He said the words with such despair.

"Or you'd simply love the both of us."

Naruto dragged his cloak on with bitterness. He hadn't been gone long. He can still get back to the ball. He slammed the door closed behind him.

What was wrong with him?

He was Naruto Uzumaki, he was the Hokage of Konoha, and yet he couldn't fall in love like a normal person. First there was Sakura and her devotion to Sasuke had been constant blows to his self-confidence. Then there was Mei and he fell for her knowing that the politics would never work out. Then there was Hinata. And Sasuke was the worst of them all.

Naruto knew it could be a possibility that they could grow closer but it was supposed to be a slow thing. This was too soon. Naruto thought he'd have more time to get used to the idea. He wasn't ready for this.

Naruto entered the ball as if he had never left it. His shoulders hunched when Neji turned to him from across the ballroom and the guilt was worse under that blank Hyuuga gaze.

Naruto swept towards Amaru. "I'm sorry. There was a slight emergency I needed to see to."

"That's alright. I understand." Amaru smiled and Naruto stared at her as if mentally willing himself to falling in love with her – with someone safe, and warm, and who could take care of him. But when Amaru took his hand, it was a numb comparison to the lightning still tingling through his skin from Hinata's brief moments or the crackle of Sasuke's fire that always threatened to consume him.

Why couldn't love be easy?

* * *

ANBU had quartered off several streets just for the ninja. Before the exams, most ninja were kept in separate parts of the city but now they converged onto one street to enjoy the celebrations. Naruto figured allowing the ninja the opportunity to blow off steam could be a better outlet than holding grudges from the exams. Because of the civilian unrest, ANBU had established checkpoints at the exits and entrances. No civilians were allowed in unless pre-approved by the government with a license to sell alcohol, drugs, or sex. And the capital was bountiful in all three.

And in the very center of it all, was Killer Bee's after party located within a large warehouse. The alcohol was free for all participants of the games. Hohei, Kusuro and Tomu were handed beers the moment they walked through the door. The lights were dimmed but it was hard to see through the smoke of the opium. The warehouse was thundering with the sound of music. Currently on stage was an up and coming rap duo from Kumo that had featured on a few of KB's songs.

"Now this is my type of party." Kusuro said the moment they stepped a foot inside. Kusuro was a kid when his village was destroyed and he's been practically on the run since he left Konoha. He's never seen anything like this. When he began to struggle with the cap on his beer, Tomu grabbed it and popped the top with a kunai. Hohei had to be fancy and Jyuuken his off with a well-aimed finger. Kusuro gave them both put-upon looks.

"Hey, want to meet KB?" Tomu said with a big fat grin.

"Hell yes." The Raikage was important and what not, but who wouldn't want to meet the infamous Killer Bee?

"I'm going to find someone to fuck." Hohei waved them off and went his own way in the crowd.

Tomu led Kusuro through the crowd, right toward the bouncers that prevented just anyone from entering Killer Bee's VIP section. Tomu pointed to himself and declared, "Tomu _Uzumaki_."

The bouncers let him pass without hassle.

Kusuro looked over at Tomu knowingly. "You enjoy doing that don't you?"

"Being related to a famous ninja has some perks."

Killer Bee looked up just as they walked in. "Hey, it's Naruto's little bro. The exams were a great show. I noticed the shout out in one of your bouts. Much respect for that blowout."

"I made up a whole bunch of jutsu and named them after all your best lyrics." It was traditionally frowned upon to give a jutsu a non-descriptive name. Other than the element of surprise, usually weird names only served to confuse the user but Tomu had the sharingan and he could remember his own vast arsenal of jutsu with ease. "I wish I had the chance to use all of them."

Killer Bee slapped his knees as an idea came to him. "I could spar someday with you, a rapping spar that mixes rhymes and jutsu. It'd be a real rap battle."

"Dude, I am so down for that," Tomu said as he gave Killer Bee a fist bump.

Sitting adjacent from Killer Bee, Kankurou exhaled a cloud of smoke from a large inordinate glass sculpture in the middle of the table. He passed the bong to Ino Yamanaka who sat beside him. "Hey," Kankurou flashed bright white teeth, "Didn't think Naruto would let the kids come out to play tonight."

"I sure as hell wasn't staying at a ball."

Kankurou laughed, leaned forward, and gave Tomu a fist bump. Tomu wasn't surprised to find Kankurou here. He was a regular on the Suna party scene. Tomu turned to Ino. "Sakura here?"

"Dancing," Ino said as she stretched and laid out completely in Kankurou's lap. Tomu knew he didn't have much to worry about. He was in familiar company. Most likely, Naruto had tasked them all to babysit him. Which, to be honest, is infinitely better than Sasuke sulking in a corner all night.

"Hey everyone, this is my friend Kusuro Hatake. He's the new Kusakage."

"Darui told me about you, young homie. It's good to finally meet. The name is Killer Bee." Killer Bee slapped Kusuro on the shoulder and pulled him down into the chair. "You know, I was just thinking, can you rap?"

"Uh," Kusuro looked at Tomu helplessly.

"I could put you on my new record, no doubt. Right now you're an unknown but you need to let the world know what you're about. Forget the big stuffs in the big hats and those boring old diplomats. You need to talk to the common people."

"I don't know. I'm not very much of a rapper."

"That don't mean nothing. Everyone got a story to tell. Everyone has something to say. Doesn't matter if you can't rap well. Someone, give me a beat."

Tomu was all too eager to oblige.

"I'm sitting with the Kusakage, the new cat on the scene, drinking it up and living life like its routine. Kage at the age of…"

"Eighteen," Tomu interjected for Kusuro. He elbowed Kusuro encouragingly.

It took a few seconds before Kusuro could think of anything to say before the words fell from his mouth. "Never thought I'd see this day not after my village was betrayed. You see, we thought Konoha was our friends but they were foul in their play. Konoha abandoned us and casted us away. Konoha took my country. Konoha took my mom. Konoha took me. Because one day a Kage chose between Grass or Killerbee. It was either die hard or live free. Mom, I hope I made you proud of me."

"Now that is truth." Killer Bee applauded. "You got mad bars for days, Grass Kage.

Tomu nudged Kusuro softly. "He told you?"

Kusuro nodded sadly. "Yeah, he did. The funny thing is I don't blame Naruto nearly as much as he blames himself. He was following the orders of his Kage. I just wish that Grass had been strong enough to protect itself."

"When are you free to meet me in the studio to lay down a beat?" Killer Bee asked.

"Wait, you're serious?" Kusuro asked.

"Damn right. I'll see you tomorrow night." Then Killer Bee passed Kusuro a blunt. Tomu never understood why Killer Bee bothered since alcohol or drugs barely affected him. While Kusuro and Killer Bee further cemented their plans for a collaboration, Tomu became engrossed in a conversation with a blue-haired dark-skinned kunoichi named Shinaru. Within seconds they were discussing their favorite Killer Bee songs and her goal to be the first internationally recognized female MC.

The room began to spin when Tomu took the last sip of his beer. He glanced down at the beer bottle. It was the same one that had been given to him since he walked in through the door. He looked around almost frantically. The voice of the kunoichi he was speaking to sounded muffled. Beside him, Kusuro shook his knee and was asking him something.

"I'm sorry. I just need some air." Tomu stuttered and immediately tried to push himself through the crowd to get to the bathroom before he vomited on someone.

He fell against a warm body who barely caught him. Tomu tried to get away to go to the bathroom but eventually he gave up with a groan. He was half-dragged half carried through the crowd until they suddenly stopped.

"Yo, yo, yo," Killer Bee's voice suddenly came over the speaker system. "Pedophile with the fucked-up smile."

The music was cut. The stage lights were turned toward the nondescript ninja dragging Tomu semi-conscious out of the building. The door was immediately blocked. There were quakes in every part of Tomu's body and he was certain he was going to throw up any minute on those snake-skin shoes until he realized that no, the quakes were just Sakura shoving through the crowd.

"Let him go or I punch you halfway across the country," Sakura demanded. Ino slipped through the crowd to stand at Sakura's shoulder. Killer Bee watched the proceedings from the stage. Hohei slipped through the shadows. Kankurou and Kusuro moved to block the doors.

Orochimaru broke out into a feral smile. Even the snake knew it was best to yield to a warehouse full of Jounin. "The fox can't always have eyes on him."

Then Orochimaru raised his hands in mock innocence, completely dropping Tomu to the floor with a loud thump. Hohei jumped out the shadows with a lightning strike. Kusuro darted forward with a barrage of needles.

They hit each other.

Orochimaru's clone dismissed itself before either ninja ever reached him and slithered away.

* * *

The ball was finally beginning to wind down. Most guests had already excused themselves for the evening. Amaru was sitting down at a table and massaging her feet out of her high heels. Naruto amiably nodded his head in a conversation with one of the Fire Country's richest merchants while he desperately tried to find a way to end the conversation in an amiable manner.

Naruto almost sighed in relief when he spotted an ANBU enter the ballroom and head straight towards him. Was it wrong of him to hope it was something serious enough to excuse himself? He immediately regretted it when the ANBU whispered the name of Orochimaru in his ear.

"I deeply apologize but an important matter requires my attention," Naruto finally escaped from the merchant. When the ANBU had entered the ballroom, Neji had immediately activated his byakugan. Naruto walked by Neji, a casual pass to onlookers, and whispered tersely, "End the ball immediately."

Naruto stopped in front of Amaru's table. "I'm sorry but I have to cut our evening short."

"Is there something wrong?" Amaru asked concern.

"No. The incident was prevented but it requires my attention. I've got to go. I'm sorry." He didn't leave Amaru much room to reply before using the hiraishin jutsu to immediately reach Tomu's location.

Tomu was in his bed with Sakura crouched beside him. She seemed to be feeding him several bottles of water. After a quick cursory glance, Tomu looked pale, but Kusuro and Hohei seemed to be the worst off. Kusuro was nursing a nasty burn on his arm and Hohei seemed to be in the middle of picking hundreds of needles out of his skin like a half-naked porcupine. Neither men seemed particularly in a good mood.

"How is he?" Naruto asked as he stepped forward and pressed a palm to Tomu's hot forehead.

"Whatever Orochimaru gave him isn't poisonous but only seems to cause disorientation. It should flush harmlessly through his system after a while." Sakura explained.

"What happened to these two?" Naruto pointed over his shoulder.

Sakura only snickered. She motioned Kusuro over and began to heal the burn on his arm. Kusuro asked with more than a hint of worry, "If Orochimaru is after the sharingan, will he come after mine?"

"Thus far he seems to be interested only in the Mangekyou so I suggest try not to watch anyone you love die," Tomu said flatly. Kusuro dropped his head in apology.

"Most likely he'll make another play for Tomu. We need to have a plan to take care of him permanently by then."

"Now that the Jounin Exams are over, I promise that I won't rest until we figure something out." Naruto knew Sakura was right. Repelling Orochimaru wasn't enough, but it was a small victory for now. It bought them time.

"Should we tell Sasuke?" Tomu slowly hedged.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. "You know," Naruto began, "I'd rather not rile him up needlessly."

Sakura punched Naruto rather hard in the arm.

"Ow," Naruto pouted and rubbed his shoulder where there will undoubtedly be a bruise by tomorrow. "Fine," Naruto whined. "I'll go get him."

Naruto stood up and motioned to Kusuro. "I might as well take you home while we're at it."

"But I want to stay," Kusuro argued.

"You're a Kage now. Your place is back with your men. You've accomplished everything you needed to do here. Tomu will be fine with us."

"With Sasuke Uchiha, you mean?" Kusuro snapped. "The very guy who studied under Orochimaru? Don't you think that maybe he had all of you fooled and he's still working for the guy this entire time? He's a ninja! He could be fooling all of you."

Kusuro yelped when Naruto suddenly shoved him against the wall and there was a flash of red in his eyes. "You don't get to criticize him. You don't know him. _You don't know._ "

"Naruto," Sakura whispered uncertainly, "Let him go."

Naruto noticed his hands dug too deep into Kusuro shoulders and Kusuro was giving him _that_ look – that same look that people gave him when he declared he was going to bring Sasuke back home, even after Sasuke killed a village elder, even after Sasuke crashed a Kage summit, up until they met on the battlefield of the fourth shinobi war. It was that same baffled expression that pitied him for being an idiotic fool.

Kusuro lifted his head in obvious fear but braver than many others. "You're right. I don't know him. But I do know he threatened me in a broom closet only two hours ago. He threatened to rip my eye out and burn my entire country to the ground, so yeah, I don't trust the motherfucker. I think I'll stay."

Naruto slammed the door behind him as he walked out of the room. Naruto needed to get out of there fast before he did something he'll regret. The anger coursing through him had him shivering. It wasn't the fact that Kusuro didn't trust Sasuke. Hell, there were moments Naruto didn't trust Sasuke.

But now, Naruto was beginning to not trust himself.

Was he chasing after Sasuke again? Would there be anything at the end of this other than hurt and pain? Or would he always be a fool?

"Naruto, I heard what happened. Is everything okay?"

Naruto just barely stopped himself before he ran into Amaru. His mouth was running on auto-pilot. He needed to hurry and tell Sasuke about Tomu. And then maybe he'd hiraishin home to the kids. He just needed the time to think things through. "It was a false alarm. The Guardians don't have anything to worry about. I'm so sorry about everything that happened but I've got to go."

"No. Of course, Naruto, I understand."

Suddenly, Naruto realized that Amaru still hasn't broken the habit of calling him Hokage-sama. Amaru favored leaning on her right side but she stepped towards him on her left.

When Naruto realized the truth, it was too late.

Orochimaru slapped a seal against Naruto's stomach. He leaned forward to curl a whisper along his tongue. "Here's an intriguing riddle: who's more clever - the fox or the snake?"

The paper dissolved and left the black imprint of Orochimaru's seal laden atop Naruto's belly button. The Kyuubi seal flared red underneath it. Naruto stared down and attempted to read the lines. He scratched down his stomach in an attempted to disrupt the seal but it was latched on to his chakra pathways and not his skin. It was the type of seal that would take Naruto days to peel off. Orochimaru's black seal began to turn, twisting the Kyuubi red, and clicking like a vault slowly coming open.

"I admit, clever little Fox, it took me a long time to figure out the counter-seal. At first, it was about the sharingan and then it became the challenge of figuring out this little puzzle you have given me. It took me so long I almost got sidetracked by it."

Orochimaru's grin grew wide, smug with himself to finally watch all the puzzle pieces come together. Naruto clawed at his stomach in a blind panic and drew bloody seal lines along shredded skin to no avail. Orochimaru's seal rejected every interference.

Orochimaru looked on Naruto as if he was nothing more than a puzzle to be solved and now that it was completed, it was time to throw it away. "Tell Sasuke-kun I'll be waiting for him."

The bruise that Sakura had made when she punched Naruto began to heal. With a final distinct click, both seals disappeared and left Naruto's stomach bare for the first time since the womb. An old cage creaked open. A menacing laugh boiled with spite. Naruto's eyes bled red.

**"MISSED ME?"**

* * *

_**Who's more clever - the fox or the snake?** _

* * *

_**x** _


	21. Bonds

Over the years the broken pipes of Naruto's mindscape had transformed into the solid gates of the Uzumaki compound. The sewage water sprouted fields of grass and flowers. The irritating and constant drip of water had turned into the sound of a child's laugh always round the corner. The suffocating air of the sewer had collapsed under the heavy weight of a moon that hung full in the sky. Naruto's mindscape existed in a fixed twilight at the border of night and day. Over the compound walls, peeked the curious rays of the sun.

Naruto no longer feared his own mindscape as he had as a child. It was where Naruto turned inward to meditate and found peace within the inner confines of his own mind.

The back gates of the Uzumaki compound had been neglected over the years. The grass was a little overgrown. It was in the back of Naruto's mind where the dates for doctor's appointments and barely-remembered dreams often went forgotten. The iron has begun to rust around a complex seal that never faded or wrinkled.

Until the day the seal disappeared.

Naruto raced through the compound. He jumped over the swing set engraved with the names of his children, crunched feet over the fields of sunflowers and memories, and came to a stop just as the back gates swung open. Naruto's hand trembled to touch the place where the seal once lay. He walked into the darkness that the seal's absence had unleashed.

**"MISSED ME?"**

Naruto was always accustomed to meeting Kurama at eye-level between a cell of bars. But this time, Kurama stood upright on his hind legs, simply because he could, and stretched out the kinks through his entire body. Naruto had to crane his neck upwards to looked at the demon in his entirety. The cell that had once contained him was gone.

"Just so we're clear, you're going to be an ass about this aren't you?"

Kurama dropped down on all fours which sent the entire mindscape shaking loose and gave a black lipped feral grin. His maw opened wide and a bijuu bomb began gathering right in front of Naruto at point-blank range.

"Yeah, fuck you too." Naruto activated sage mode to race out the range of the attack. Really, Kurama shouldn't be all that butt-hurt. Naruto might have locked Kurama away in what was akin to solitary confinement five years ago but time was different to Kurama. To Kurama, Naruto had locked him away just seconds ago.

The blast caught Naruto in the back. He crashed through the compound walls, straight through a window, and landed underneath a toppled building. He cut with his ANBU katana and barely rolled out the way of the large-black tipped tail. The cut Naruto made along the tail was practically the equivalent of a paper cut to the large Bijuu.

Naruto sent wind chakra through the blade. Tufts of orange fur drifted down from the sky. Naruto jolted back from the recoil when his sword glanced off one of Kurama's talons. Kurama's dark rumbling chuckle sent a hot breeze through Naruto's mindscape.

Naruto looked up at Kurama's towering figure and knew this was going to be the fight of his life.

* * *

Across Fire Country every sensor froze in terror. It's been a long time since anyone has felt a Bijuu's chakra that it took a while to identify anything other than menace and dark intent from the chakra radiating from the capital. At the palace, in the center of it all, every ninja felt it. It was a physical force that tore into flesh and ate people alive.

"Naruto," Sasuke breathed with care, afraid if he spoke any louder he would break this surreal nightmare. But across from him, Juugo tensed and began to sweat. Juugo was never as good a sensor as Karin but his affinity for nature chakra allowed him to be more attune with the currents of chakra than the average ninja.

"Sasuke, do you feel that? Is that the Kyuubi?" Juugo's words shattered everything. It meant Juugo felt it too. This wasn't a fucking dream. This wasn't fucking paranoia. This was happening. Sasuke hiraishined out of the room.

Sasuke and Hinata practically bumped heads seconds later as they both crouched over Naruto. The Hokage was huddled into the hallway with one chakra tail curled around his waist. Sweat plastered Naruto blonde hair to his forehead. Hinata pressed chakra to his stomach. Nothing happened.

Hinata thought perhaps the seal had been tampered with or the Kyuubi was trying to escape like back during the festival, but no, the seal was completely gone. The Hyuuga Clan Head succinctly summarized, "Shit."

Sasuke looked around wildly. Orochimaru did this. He had no doubt. There was no one else alive in the world that could possibly rival Naruto with fuuinjutsu. "Orochimaru could not have gotten this close to Naruto unless he used the face of someone Naruto knows. It means Orochimaru is wearing someone's face and he's not just a clone. Orochimaru is still here in the palace."

Hinata activated her byakugan and searched for anyone acting unusual.

She found it. The moment people began to feel the Kyuubi's chakra, the Twelve Guardians immediately began to enact Threat Level Red Protocols. While many rushed to different defensive positions of the palace, Amaru was casually strolling toward the palace doors as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"I have eyes on Orochimaru."

Sasuke immediately stood up and then bristled when Hinata placed a hand on his arm. "No, all Orochimaru has to do is change bodies and you'll lose him. I can track him if I have constant eyes on him. I'll go after Orochimaru and attempt to apprehend him. Perhaps he can fix what he's done."

Sasuke couldn't believe the gall Hinata had to dare force him back. "Orochimaru is mine."

"Naruto is dying." Hinata snapped angrily. "Right now, he's mentally managing to suppress the Fox but he won't be able to keep it up forever. Nor will his body. He's either going to physically or mentally give out first. You need to get Naruto to Sakura so we can at least determine how long he physically has."

"Sakura is most likely already on her way here but Orochimaru is getting further and further away."

Hinata stared at him as if he was being the ridiculous one, as if he wasn't the one comprehending logic. "I have the byakugan. I can track Orochimaru. You might need to guide Tomu with the sharingan if Naruto's condition worsens. It doesn't make sense for you to leave his side."

Sasuke sent a current of electricity through his arm until Hinata was forced to drop the limb. "I'm going after Orochimaru."

Obviously, Hinata could see, logic wasn't going to work here. She shook her head. Uchiha – all emotion. "Uchiha Sasuke _, is Orochimaru more important than Naruto?_ "

Sasuke glanced down at Naruto with a grimace and there was fear in the lines of his face. He shook his head.

"Coward," Hinata spat at him. She didn't flinch when Sasuke grabbed her by the shirt and shoved her against the wall, with the seconds ticking by. The heat died when Sasuke came to terms that he was holding Hinata, the woman who was loved by Naruto and the mother to Naruto's biological children. He had no intention of hurting her. Perhaps she would understand. After all, she loved him too.

"I can't watch him die."

"Sometimes love is holding their hand as they wither away. Sometimes love is letting go to find happiness with someone else. Love hurts, Sasuke. _It hurts._ Don't abandon him because you're afraid. I am going to go after Orochimaru. And you are going to stay here with Naruto, help him fight in any way that you can, and if worse come to worse, refuse to let him die alone because even though it hurts, that's how much you love him."

Sasuke crumbled to the ground. Those words wouldn't have pierced him as effectively coming from anyone other than Hinata. She said the words filled with all the pain and hurt he was currently feeling.

"Hinata," Sasuke said before she left down the hall. "Don't go after him alone. It's a trap."

Hinata nodded and then raced down the hall to catch Orochimaru before he reached the gates. Through her byakugan, she saw Neji and immediately mouthed, "Orochimaru – Amaru."

Neji didn't hesitate. He ordered the Guardian that was accompanying him to immediately secure the Daimyo into the bunker and then Neji was racing through the halls just as fast as Hinata, each taking different directions to catch Orochimaru between them.

Sasuke curled around Naruto and pulled him into his lap. Sasuke's shoulders shivered. This was all his fault. He wasn't paying attention. He allowed Orochimaru to get close. Sasuke's eyesight was so blurry he could barely see who was coming down the hall. Despite what Hinata said, he didn't think he had the strength to watch Naruto die. He wasn't ready for this.

* * *

Kusuro had never before felt a Bijuu's chakra but it was sticky like tar stuck to your skin and pulling at the hairs. Tomu and Sakura had immediately identified what it was. You couldn't tell that only moment ago Tomu was bedridden, still weak from Orochimaru's drug, when the sudden adrenaline pulled Tomu from the bed and barked, "Hohei."

Hohei was already in the process of activating his byakugan. "The Hokage is at one-tail. Hinata-sama and Sasuke-san is with him."

Sakura rubbed the bridge of her nose. "This is going to be a long night. Let's go."

With his byakugan, Hohei led the way. Kusuro eyed Tomu running beside him, closer and closer towards that menacing chakra. It felt like running through molasses from the thickness of it. "You okay?"

"I have to be."

It was a far-cry from the Tomu that used to run from danger.

* * *

"Turn right at the end of the hall," Hohei suddenly said, and then without another word, crashed through the nearest window. Hohei raced over the roof tiling. When he jumped into the garden, Uncle Henji was turning out the kitchens. Through their byakugan, Neji and Hinata were just a hallway distance away from Orochimaru. Orochimaru paused and studied the air with a slithering tongue. Then Amaru's casual stroll suddenly turned into an outright run.

Hohei was there to cut him off at the door. The ground shifted under his feet as he sent a lightning jutsu in Orochimaru's direction. Orochimaru's entire body seemed to unnaturally curl around the lightning bolt. Hohei went rolling on the ground, Neji's hand caught his shirt, and then pulled him up. Another cousin attempted to intercept Orochimaru at the gate but he sped by her just before her Jyuuken could reach him.

With Hinata in the lead, the entire Hyuuga Clan currently in the capital had given chase. They took turns with the byakugan and never allowed Orochimaru out of their sight.

* * *

When they rounded the corner, it was a jolt for Kusuro to see Naruto completely limp and helpless in the arms of an S-class criminal. He needed to get Naruto away from that man immediately. Tomu squeezed a hand around Kusuro's arm in warning. Tomu didn't move forward. Jounin or not, Tomu had learned the hard-way that you let an S-class deal with an S-class, unfortunately there were only few who met those requirements. Tomu glanced over at Sakura.

She nodded and stepped towards Sasuke with the careful trepidation of approaching a rabid dog. And suddenly, Kusuro was reminded of his mother – not his mother that he knew as a child, but the woman who survived the destruction of their village – that hard volatile woman surviving only on the drag of a cigarette. Kusuro had to learn to be careful in his approach, and that's what broke his heart the most, but you do it because you love them. Most people would say it's too much effort, that's it's simply too dangerous to love them, but you try anyways. Kusuro looked at Tomu with different eyes and understanding.

The air tensed as Sakura approached. You could barely feel it in the miasma of the Kyuubi's chakra but every stepped forward revealed how volatile Sasuke's own chakra was at the moment. "Sasuke," Sakura said gently, immediately adopting the voice she used with scared patients. Sasuke didn't move from where his head was buried into Naruto's shoulder. Sakura knelt down and reached out to place a hand on Sasuke's arm. Sasuke recognized the creak of Sakura's leather gloves. The sound was the only thing that kept him from lashing out violently.

"He's dying," Sasuke said hoarsely with tears clawing down his throat. The man who had terrified Kusuro in a broom closet had been reduced to the quake of a distraught child. Figures only Naruto could bring a man like Sasuke Uchiha to his knees.

"The Fox hasn't broken free yet. That's means Naruto is still fighting and if he's fighting, we have to too," Sakura said gently as she brushed her hand through Sasuke's tears. Then she carefully moved between Sasuke's arms to reach the radio Naruto always had on his person. Sakura threw the radio over her shoulder, which Tomu caught with ease.

Tomu pulled strength from his ANBU persona and immediately spoke into the radio, "Copy, this is Codename Leaf in the Whirlpool. Kage is down, I repeat the Hokage is currently incapacitated. Captain Mantis, the Hyuuga Clan went after Orochimaru. Begin pursuit immediately. All other ANBU Captains meet in the Kage's suite. The Capital is on current threat Level Red. Enact Protocol 41bc."

"Leaf in the Whirlpool recognized. Protocol 41bc underway." Leaf in the Whirlpool was codename for anyone personally close to the Hokage taking temporary command in case something happened to Naruto. It was initially created for Ame and Ichigo in case they needed to make decisions for their dad.

Sakura didn't dare move Naruto out of Sasuke's arms but she did manage to talk him into bringing Naruto to the Kage's suite. Within seconds all the Captains currently in the capital, with the exception of Captain Mantis who was the Captain of the Hunter-nin Division, had converged on their location.

Captain Cat immediately said, "So exactly how fucked are we from a range of 1-10?"

"He seems to be suppressing the Fox for now but he can't keep it up indefinitely. If I can get him to medical equipment, I can try to delay the physical decay as long as possible." Sakura stated. "Captain Cat, can you try to gauge his mental state?"

Captain Cat had taken up position all the way across the room. She was as far as she could possibly be without being a step outside. "Fuck no, I'm not touching that. It's a war in there and I could get dragged into it if I'm not careful."

Captain Hound suggested, "We need to move the Hokage away from the capital, somewhere isolated in case this does explode in our faces. We also need to let Tsunade-sama what's going on. Can he be moved?"

"For long distances, I don't know. It could affect his concentration," Sakura said nervously.

"I'll get KB. With his chakra, we should be able to hiraishin Naruto to an isolated area. What about _the_ island?" Tomu knew Sakura understood he was referring to the island Naruto and Hinata shared, which many of the people in the room didn't know about. "It's isolated from populated areas and outfitted with electricity so we can set up any equipment that you need."

"That'll work." Sakura agreed.

"We also need a way to cover-up this disaster for now. People are going to ask questions," Captain Hound pointed out.

"Is that really a priority if we don't even know if he's going to live or not? Perhaps people should know so that they can be prepared." Captain Cat argued.

Captain Hound turned to Tomu. "Until Tsunade is informed of the situation, you're acting Kage in Naruto's stead."

Tomu gave the both of them blanks looks. How the fuck did Naruto do this job? Tomu squeezed his eyes closed. He wasn't the Kage. As someone personally close to Naruto, he was merely supposed to predict the decisions that Naruto himself would choose. But seriously, how do you predict Naruto?

* * *

Kurama swatted away Naruto's rasengan and slammed Naruto to the ground. Kurama fangs surrounded Naruto before he pulled back playfully. "Do we really have to go through this bore? It's always the same thing. I get out. You lock me up. I get out. You lock me up. Eventually, your fragile human body is going to fail you and I am going to be free. Why not skip all that stuff in between?" Kurama gave Naruto a moment before Kurama answered himself, "Yeah, you never give up. I've heard it before. Why don't we make it interesting this time?"

Naruto grinned just as maliciously as the Fox on his best days. "Five years ago, I decided you were no longer the center of my life and casted you into my subconscious like an unwanted memory. It's been three years since I figured out how to separate your chakra from mine and permanently lock you away. This was nothing but dumb luck for you. When I die, the new seal I created won't allow my body to decompose. It'll become a vessel that will forever keep you sealed. You won't die. You won't reincarnate. It will be me and you for the rest of our eternities. Neither of us will ever be free because I will stop you here and I will always be your cage. Who knows, maybe after a thousand years, we might even become friends."

Kurama roared with a sudden fury to realize that right now will be his only chance to ever escape again. The stakes were suddenly higher. Their cat and mouse was no longer a game. Kurama ripped fangs forward to tear through the smoke of a shadow clone.

Suddenly thousands of shadow clones rained down from the sky with a rasen-shuriken in each hand. The resulting explosion demolished every building that had still been standing. Naruto watched as Kurama picked himself up from the attack, bloody, but healing rapidly.

A cloud of tobacco smoke exhaled into the air. Naruto glanced beside him as his mental defenses finally materialized. "I need you two to buy me some time. Can you distract him?"

Gamabunta took a drag of his pipe. Atop Gamabunta, Jiraiya sat and eyed the Kyuubi. "We can try."

* * *

When Naruto regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the smell of Sasuke. It was a sudden distinct smell that he never knew he recognized before now. Sasuke was the smell of fresh ozone, hard steel, and bright fire. They were scents that spoke of danger rather than comfort but Naruto felt his body relax nevertheless. He tasted sweat and the salt of tears and tightened a hand through Sasuke's shirt.

Naruto felt Sasuke stiffen through every inch of his body and then pulled back, pulling Naruto's face out from his shoulder. Naruto smiled at the sight of Sasuke's red-rimmed eyes because it meant that Sasuke was here and not out somewhere seeking vengeance. Sasuke was an ugly crier, probably the only time in pretty boy's life when he was. The thought brought a weak grin to Naruto's face.

"What the fuck are you smiling about dobe?"

"You're ugly when you're crying," Naruto teased.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I'm too pretty for you." Naruto laughter turned into an undignified snort, which alerted everyone in the room that he was awake.

"Naruto!" yelled concerned voices.

Naruto knew he didn't have long and knew he certainly didn't have the time to banter with Sasuke. Naruto didn't know how long his mental defenses would hold up without him. Naruto turned to face the group that had gathered at his bedside. They were all rather expected but it wounded him a little that Hinata wasn't there. "Tomu, summon the toads. Get a message to Ichigo and Ame. I need Ame to make me a new seal. My current seal is too complicated for Ame to recreate but I've kept the schematics of the seal my Father made. She might be able to build it. It'll be enough to cage the Kyuubi."

"And if the Fox gets free sir?" Captain Hound asked.

Naruto looked into all the faces of those that depended on him. "The crisis will be precedent enough for Tsunade to call on the Joint-Shinobi Nations. Try to contain the Fox as best you can until Ame does finish the seal."

"What then?"

Naruto's hand clawed into a fist. The Kage part of him gave the solution immediately but the rest of felt heartbroken and betrayed by the suggestion. He suddenly understood how his own father had made an impossible decision. "I have a biological son. Put the seal on him." Naruto didn't have to explain further. They all understood the implications.

"It won't come to that," Tomu said fiercely. "Ame will finish the seal on time. We'll take care of everything on this side. You focus on fighting the Fox."

Even though everything seemed hopeless, it was almost a relief to everyone in the room that Naruto had some kind of back-up plan to handle the situation, even if it did depend on a fourteen-year old girl.

"Leave the room. I need to talk with Sasuke in private."

Sakura would have argued how inadvisable that order seemed to be but she knew that the Fox wasn't the only ticking time bomb here. The more dire the situation became, the harder it would be to control Sasuke. Hopefully, Naruto had the words to reign him in because the world would go straight to hell if Naruto died, and Sakura wasn't so certain if it would be the Fox or Sasuke to do it.

As ordered, everyone left the room to give them privacy.

As if bolstered by Naruto's brief moment of lucidity, Tomu looked at everyone and immediately ordered, "Captain Cat, you can get in contact with Shikamaru, correct? Shikamaru and Tsunade needs to be on alert in Konoha. For right now, we try to keep this quiet until Tsunade says otherwise or we reach the point of no return. Kusuro, how would you like to earn your votes? You know Naruto well enough to use a henge of him. You can go around with Captain Hound assuring everyone everything is fine. False alarm for right now."

"Wait, but I haven't been around Naruto for five years." Kusuro didn't think he knew Naruto well enough to fool the other Kages.

"Use the sharingan to get the details right. Think of this as Kage field experience: What to do when shit hits the fan. You and Captain Hound hold things down here in the capital. I'll summon the toad and get in contact with Ame. Sakura, get KB. And everyone remember, we don't know if this was Orochimaru's final objective or a bigger part of his plan. Stay on high alert. Dismissed."

Immediately, they got to work.

* * *

The moment the door closed, Naruto looked to Sasuke terrified out of his fucking mind. Naruto could put on a brave front for Tomu, be the Hokage for his ANBU, and give Sakura a reassuring smile, but there was no need for Sasuke. Always the pessimist, Sasuke wouldn't believe him anyways. Might as well be honest. Naruto didn't know if he was going to survive this one.

Naruto squeezed the palm of his hands to his eyes. He gulped out as if in need of air. "I promised myself- I wouldn't be my father- that I wouldn't give my children to that monster-"

Sasuke, ever the emotionally stunted one, collapsed beside Naruto in the bed. You'd think with the little time that they had, they'd spend it in anything other than silence. But they lay beside each other, taking in the situation and wallowing in each other's presence.

"I'm slipping," Naruto whispered. He could feel the pain twisting his limbs the longer he stayed.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. If this was to be their last moment what could they possibly say?

"I'll try not to destroy the world or enslave it with the moon," Sasuke said so flatly that Naruto trembled with a smile, revealing that Sasuke was well aware of everyone's fears.

"I certainly hope you can come up with something more imaginative."

"I could reanimate your corpse with Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and keep you as my personal slave."

"Well, that gives me peace of mind now that I know my corpse won't be desecrated and used for nefarious purposes." Naruto reached over and dragged his knuckles across Sasuke's cheek. "Hey, it's not over until the Fox is out the bag."

Sasuke shot up in bed when Naruto fingers fell from his face. "Wait, Naruto..."

Sasuke caught Naruto as Naruto was catapulted back into his mindscape. A second chakra tail unfurled and burned like acid through the sheets and Sasuke's clothes. But Sasuke refused to let go.

"...don't leave me."

* * *

Within half an hour, Naruto was fighting for his life on the lone island in the middle of the sea. Sakura was feeding Naruto body supplements through an IV to maintain his strength. Tomu was establishing communication with both Ichigo and Ame. Sasuke was still. He sat tucked into a hammock and overlooked Sakura as she gave Naruto a sponge bath in an attempt to get his temperature down. Sakura had Naruto splayed out onto the kitchen table as the hammock wasn't stable enough to brace him. Sasuke felt powerless and helpless. There was nothing for him to do but watch.

"Tomu!" Ame's voice came shakily through the toad's mouth. Sasuke tensed because he had gotten to know the young woman well enough to know she isn't frazzled easily.

"What's wrong?" Tomu asked.

"Baa-chan came to the compound- they took Boruto- I don't know why. They took him!"

All the tendons in Tomu's body tensed. "Listen to me Ame. They want to use Boruto to contain the Kyuubi in case it escapes _but_ that hasn't fucking happened yet. As acting Clan Head, the Hokage doesn't have the right to take Boruto unless you agree to it. Ichigo, go to the Hokage Tower and get Boruto back. Make Tsunade and everyone in that fucking tower understand that Boruto is our last option, not our first. And if they won't let him go, I give the entire Uzumaki Clan permission to break him the fuck out."

Tomu could just imagine the wicked smiles on the other end of the line. Konoha better brace themselves because they just stepped on the wrong side of the Uzumaki Clan. People only saw them as a clan of orphans. But they saw themselves as a family and they took care of their own.

Tomu understood that Tsunade might want to keep Boruto close and under surveillance in the tower to assuage the fears of the populace but tearing a four-year old child out of his bed and away from his family in the middle of the night was utterly unacceptable. Without Naruto, people thought they could make decisions for the Uzumaki Clan, do what they _think_ is best, but Tomu will be damned if the Uzumaki Clan didn't have every single say in what will happen to Boruto.

Ichigo replied simply. "I won't bother asking." Then he was gone.

After Sakura finally got an accurate readings of Naruto's vital signs and compared it to how quickly the deterioration was progressing, Sakura mouthed to Tomu, 'Five hours.'

Sasuke's blood went cold.

"Ame, how is the seal coming?"

"Holy fuck Tomu, I haven't even started mixing the right combination of ink. This seal is so complicated."

"Listen to me, Nii-san is going to die within the next five hours without that seal. Can you do it?"

For a moment, all anyone could hear was Ame's harsh breathing, until she croaked, "I don't know."

"Okay. Just breathe Ame. Walk me through it. Tell me what you're doing."

"Depending on how we want the chakra to flow, the ink needs to be very particular. Because the seal is affecting a human's chakra pathways, it needs to be made with blood, sage, and crushed willow bark. Preferably the blood of the target or someone related to him. Thankfully, because it's the same sort of ink we use in the hiraishin body tattoos we have a stash of dad's blood in the workshop."

"Good," Tomu encouraged. Sasuke closed his eyes and listened to Ame's narration. It grounded him and helped him endure the seconds. Sasuke wasn't good at this. He wasn't good at taking care of people. He was Sasuke Uchiha, the Avenger. He wished he was fighting, that Hinata had never talked him down, because this was cruel. He had to focus every breath to keep himself from bursting at the seams. Because Kami knew, that the last thing Sakura and Tomu needed was for him to lose it. Sasuke tucked his head into his knees and endured.

* * *

The Hyuuga clan chased Orochimaru over rooftops all the way to the center of town. Hinata flung a bolt of lightning in an attempt to keep Orochimaru from veering toward the populated areas of the city but Orochimaru twisted around the bolt as malleable and boneless as clay. No matter how far Orochimaru got or how many corners he swerved, he couldn't escape the byakugan's vision.

"He's headed toward the streets we have blocked off for the ninja," Neji said. As Neji predicted Orochimaru dropped down onto the busy streets filled with ninja. Orochimaru stopped and turned to face them with a manic grin.

Every instinct in Hinata's body was telling her to pull back. The moment the Hyuuga clan dropped down into the streets and attempted to trap him, Orochimaru released a lungful of poisonous smoke. Neji dropped to his knees beside her and choked on the poison. Hohei clawed at his throat.

Only Hinata wasn't affected. She was resistant to many strands of poison so it didn't surprise her that she was the only one standing. Hinata immediately bit her thumb and summoned two human-sized snakes that drank the poison as if thirsty for water. This was a distraction. Orochimaru was attempting to shake them off his trail. As the air cleared, Hinata searched with her byakugan for Orochimaru.

She spotted Amaru accosting an stumbling ninja in the alleyway. Amaru shoved the ninja against the wall, stood still for five seconds while their chakra merged, and then opened her mouth wide to eat him. Then Amaru reached up and pulled off her skin to reveal the man she had just eaten underneath. Orochimaru kicked the no longer useful skin of Amaru off his shoe. Orochimaru slithered through the alleys, so certain he had taken care of the Hyuuga and there was no one capable of following him.

The air had been cleared. The hunter-nin were several minutes away. The rest of her clan were alive but unconscious and needed to get the poison flushed from their systems. Hinata stopped and remembered Sasuke's warning: Never go after Orochimaru alone.

This time she listened to her instincts. She had no doubt Sasuke's warning had probably saved her life that day.

* * *

Naruto rolled endlessly on the ground before his body flopped to a sudden stop. He looked up at the complete destruction of his mindscape as the Kyuubi swaggered towards him like a predator who knew they had its prey cornered. Naruto tightened his fists. He just had to hold out until Ame finished the seal.

"Do you really believe that you can defeat me?" The Kyuubi chuckled. "We're really not so different, Naruto. I know a part of you enjoys it. You love the rush. You love the blood. And you can't blame it on me."

Naruto stood to his full height. In the distance he could begin to hear screeching pipes. Naruto jumped back when the foul stench of sewage popped up from the ground and began to completely flood his mindscape.

Naruto stepped back in ankle-deep water. His breath stilled as the corpses of all the people he's killed over the years bubbled to the surface. Naruto forced his eyes closed. "I've made my peace with the actions I've done. You can't intimidate me with petty tricks."

Kurama snarled and rushed at him. Naruto knew Kurama didn't have any ammunition. Kurama has missed the past five years of Naruto's life and no longer knew the doubts that ate away at him at night. Kurama couldn't feed on his fears like he had before.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"We've retrieved Boruto," Ichigo reported. "He and the rest of the clan are currently residing at Mount Myoboku."

Tomu sighed in relief. He'll establish communications with Tsunade only if the Fox escapes.

"I'm ready." Ame reported.

Tomu pulled up his sleeves and then reached deep into the toad's mouth that warped time and space within its gut. Tomu caught Ame's hand and pulled her up through the mouth of the frog.

"That's disgusting." Ame shivered with slime dripping rivulets through her hair and clothes. Ame took off the outer layer of her clothes until she was wearing only a padded undershirt and mesh tights. Her ninja boots still squelched with every step. After preparing all of the ingredients and memorizing which way the stroke of the brush needed to move, Ame hoped she was ready.

But the moment she looked up to see her father strapped down and visibly restrained to the table, she wavered. Black gnarly nails extended from his hands. Her father's whisker marks, which she had always understood to be scars had deepened and thickened, as if the red chakra cloak was biting into his cheeks. Even though her Father was lying still, the three chakra tails lashed out frenetically at anyone who got too close.

The scar on her arm tingle, resonating with the dark chakra that had accidentally lashed out at her once before. Sakura pressed a determined hand on Ame's shoulder. "The tails burn but they're not harmful yet. We still have time. We just need to work around them."

"Is it easy?" Ame whispered. "To suppress the Fox like this?"

"It's a marvel Naruto has managed for this long. When we were kids, I've seen him go from one to four tails in the span of seconds. He's gotten stronger."

Sakura helped Ame set up her equipment. Sakura had stripped Naruto of most of his clothes a while ago and left him in only his boxers. All the windows were open to let the cool sea breeze flow through the house. But Naruto was getting hotter by the second.

Ame took a deep steadying breath and dipped the ink brush. This wasn't the type of seal she could just apply to dissolving paper like Orochimaru had done. Orochimaru had placed a seal on seal. But Ame was applying a seal directly to a person's chakra networks. It needed to be applied directly to skin.

Her hand wavered over Naruto's stomach, shaking. Sakura gently wrapped Ame's hand in her own. "When I first became a medic ninja, it was the first thing I needed to master – to keep a steady hand under high-stress situations. It isn't easy." Sakura gave the girl an encouraging smile. "I'll help you."

Many people thought Fuuinjutsu was easy – as if it was just slapping ink onto something. In some regard, slapping ink on inanimate objects was easy. But people, living breathing things whose chakra currents were constantly in motion, required the highest level of fuuinjutsu skill.

Ame guided the brush, first east, then west, and around in a circle, all the while carefully using her chakra to bind the ink to Naruto's own.

A fourth chakra tail unfurled.

The sudden heat from the thickened chakra cloak scalded Ame's hands. She jolted back and watched in horror as a drop of ink fell on her Dad's navel and then began to drip and disrupted the previous lines of ink. The disruption ruined the entire seal. She had to start all the way over.

The sudden horror of her failure had her frozen to the spot, until a hand came around her waist and literally yanked her back. The moment that fourth tail manifested, a coil snapped within Sasuke. He sprung forward and pulled both Ame and Sakura back just as a blast of angry red chakra swept through the air and knocked everyone off their feet. When they looked up, Naruto's chakra cloak had deepened, so thick and red that Naruto could no longer be seen from inside. Naruto eyes were completely lost in a void of mindless white.

Sasuke has seen this form before but it always unsettled him how devoid it was of Naruto. Ame was shaking with tears. "That's not my dad."

"No," Sakura reassured her. "It isn't."

Then Sakura gave Sasuke a pointed look. They were running out of options. Ame couldn't apply the seal if Naruto couldn't keep still. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Tomu, who had cradled the toad, their only line of communication protectively in his arms. It was obvious Tomu had never seen this version of Naruto.

"Tomu," Tomu tilted his head to indicate he was listening but didn't dare take his eyes off the feral Naruto who was scratching the back of his ears with clawed hind-legs. "You might be able to control the Fox with your Mangekyou."

"What? In what logical universe can a sharingan do that? And why didn't you mention this before?" A shadowed expression crossed Sasuke's face. "Oh, I see, this might kill me." Tomu gulped and placed the whelping toad carefully down. Tomu's movement immediately caught the Fox's attention. Tomu has never been this scared in his life. Every muscle in his body was telling him to run. Breathing in the Kyuubi's chakra was like breathing in smoke. "What do I have to do?"

"Sakura and I will give you an opening to catch him by the eyes. Only someone with a strong force of will can survive the Fox. Stop thinking of him as a physical thing but a manifestation of rage and anger and evil intent. Like the Yamanaka, you want to inject yourself into Naruto's mindscape but if you waver, if you lose yourself, the Fox will consume you. Anchor yourself in a strong sense of who you are. Your mind might interpret what you see as a physical battle but it is a clash of wills. Never doubt yourself."

Tomu looked at Sasuke hopelessly. This was an advanced form of genjutsu where the user injects much more than just mere illusions but his very soul into the jutsu. Without giving him any time to grow accustomed to the idea, Sasuke and Sakura charged the Fox who met them with a deafening roar. Tomu's knees had locked on him. He was good at making plans and finding clues and managing a large number of people. He wasn't built to face down the Nine-tailed Fox.

"Tomu," Ame shook him by the hand. "You can do this."

"No, I can't." Tomu replied weakly. He knew his own mastery of the sharingan. He knew himself well enough to know that this wasn't his role to play. Perhaps there was Uchiha in his blood and there were certain things he excelled at but they needed someone of singular purpose, someone who was a force of nature in his own right.

Sakura had punched the mini crazed Fox towards Sasuke and Sasuke caught him in a cell of electricity that did nothing but enraged the Fox further. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Tomu's missed opportunity. "Tomu, do it now."

"Sakura, give Sasuke my eyes."

"What?!"

Both Sasuke and Sakura were flung backwards when Sasuke's jutsu could no longer hold the enraged animal thrashing against the bars. Feral Naruto arched back and roared, releasing heated waves of energy that cracked the ground. Suddenly the one island became many.

Sakura and Sasuke ran across the water and reconvened beside Tomu. Sasuke argued, "We don't have time for this."

Sakura demanded, "And who is going to distract the Fox while I'm performing the transplant?"

Ame had already reached inside the toad's mouth, set her foot, and pulled Ichigo out from the other side. Ame declared, "We'll distract it."

"I swear if you kids get yourself killed..." Sakura's words were caught in her throat as she watched Ame form a line of shadow clones to protect them. Ichigo bit his thumb and slammed his blood to the ground in offering. Two large shadows towered over Sakura as Ichigo and Ame were lifted into the air on the heads of Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.

"Yo," Gamakichi greeted.

"Brother, I'm hungry," Gamatatsu bemoaned.

Ichigo poked Gamakichi between the eyes. "No smoking. It's bad for your indigestion."

"It never harmed the old man," Gamakichi grumbled before flicking the cigarette in Naruto's direction and knocking the Fox completely off the small piece of island it had been clinging to.

Sakura couldn't bring herself to lecture the children. Naruto would be so proud of them. Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't so certain. "Are you sure Ichigo will be alright? He's just a civilian."

Tomu laughed and answered with a wry smile, "Sasuke, he's a Sage."

"You ready?" Ame asked as she looked over at her younger brother who didn't like violence or confrontation. Ichigo nodded simply and locked his fingers together in a seal. Ichigo's irises flattened and his eyes turned golden. He was wearing his father's sage cloak ever since the Uzumaki clan stormed the Hokage Tower.

Ame specialized in genjutsu but it was in large part a useless skill against the feral miniature Fox. She had to rely on her secondary abilities. Ame hiraishined right in front of Naruto, cocked her arm back and just like Sakura had taught her, sent chakra through her fist to strengthen her blow. Her chakra control wasn't as perfect as Sakura's but it did force Naruto back, right into Gamatatsu's bo staff, and then caught by the combination water jutsu between Ichigo and Gamakichi.

The Fox Naruto only bounced right back up. The four-tails lashed out. Ame hiraishined both Gamatasu and Gamakichi out the way of the attack while Ichigo navigated through them with the enhanced speed of sage mode. Ichigo kicked Fox Naruto until he plummeted deep underwater.

Ame quickly pulled a jar of ink from her pouch. Sensing what she was about to do, Ichigo grabbed her by one arm and dashed her over the top of the ocean while Ame left a trail of ink behind her. Ame slapped her hands to the ocean. "Fuuinjutsu: Cage of the Seven Seas."

A sphere of water with Feral Naruto swimming frantically in the middle floated into the air. The jutsu shivered and collapsed the moment Naruto lifted his head and howled. A blast of chakra took both Ame and Ichigo of their feet. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu immediately came up under the water to catch them.

"I only have a few more minutes of sage mode," Ichigo warned.

"And then we can eat?" Gamatatsu asked hopefully.

"You just ate before we came here," Gamakichi said exasperated. He struck out with his katana, only for Fox Naruto to jumped atop the blade and spiraled up and towards Ichigo. Ame flickered toward Ichigo with a hiraishin and spiraled with a kick. She missed and felt Ichigo come up behind her. She hiraishined out of the way as Ichigo knocked Naruto to the side with a punch. They double-teamed Naruto with taijutsu, Ame hiraishining in an out between moments to blast Naruto through the air like a ping pong ball between them.

Suddenly Ichigo went flying. Gamatatsu's tongue whipped out, caught Ichigo out the air, swallowed him, and then spit him out onto his hand. Ichigo coughed as sage mode faded. "Ichigo-kun, you taste nasty," Gamatatsu said almost regretfully.

The Fox immediately snapped to attention in Gamatatsu's direction. Ame cursed and immediately moved to distract the Fox's attention away from Ichigo. She flickered in and out of his range, never quite attacking, but proving as distracting as buzzing bee to a miniature Nine-tailed Fox. Ame yelped when a tail wrapped securely around her ankle and burned the skin. She was slapped down into the water so hard, she lost grip on her hiraishin kunai.

She took a breath of air as she was flung into the sky. When she finally shook herself and got her bearing, she gasped at the sight of a large ball of chakra beginning to amass within Naruto's jaw, aimed right towards her. She's heard stories of the Bijuu bomb but never thought it was so colossal. Both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu attempted to move to her rescue but neither were going to make it in time. Just the sound of that attack when it was launched sent waves through the ocean that would eventually hit along the coast as a tsunami.

A protective arm wrapped around her waist. She peeked an eye open to find that the world had tinted purple. The Bijuu bomb swept harmlessly past the purple chakra as if it was nothing but mist dispersing in the air.

From Ichigo's point of view on the ground, a flying Tengu made entirely out of chakra had materialized protectively around Ame. Ichigo had heard the stories and read the books but there was nothing like seeing it in real life: Perfect Susanoo.

Ame looked up into Sasuke's sharp red eyes. They looked nothing like Tomu's sharingan. Sasuke's sharingan was twisted into a cylindrical red star. Ame definitely knew what her next tattoo was going to be. "Hey uncle, haven't I ever told you you're the coolest?"

Sasuke gave a smug smile.

They descended down into the ocean, where Sasuke flung Ame over his shoulder at Gamakichi. Further out, the Fox yelled in outrage. Everyone made the wise decision to get behind Sasuke as Sasuke taunted Naruto to come and get him. Tsunamis swept up in Naruto's wake as he raced towards them.

Sasuke used Amaterasu to protect himself from Naruto's burning chakra cloak. When Naruto jumped at him with claws, Sasuke sidestepped the attack, caught Naruto by the back of the neck and slammed him down with ease. The feral fox squirmed underneath Sasuke 's grip but like wrangling a disobedient dog, Sasuke demanded obedience until the fox went completely still in whimpering submission.

Sasuke reached out and pressed two fingers to Naruto's forehead.

* * *

"This place looks like shit."

Naruto looked up from the pillar of rubble where he was currently trying to catch his breath to find Sasuke standing over him with a smug smirk that wordlessly translated as, 'Yes, I'm here because I'm that awesome.'

Naruto was never more glad to see Sasuke in his entire life. He didn't even care how Sasuke had gotten here. Naruto has already spent most of his vast amounts of chakra and yet it was not enough to keep the Kyuubi down. Naruto reached up with a wavering hand.

"Seriously, tag in. Give me ten minutes to recharge."

"Thirty minutes."

Naruto laughed and motioned to the Kyuubi stalking towards him. "Be my guest."

Four seconds later, Naruto watched as Sasuke rolled past his feet and raised an amused eyebrow. "Thirty minutes?"

"Shut up." Sasuke dusted the dirt from his pants and then rose to the Kyuubi's height with the entirety of Susanoo's armor surrounding him.

The Kyuubi balked with amusement. "It seems I have missed a lot. Really, Naruto? Even after all the hurt he's put you through? You'll forgive anyone anything won't you? Tell me Uchiha, I'm curious, why did you really leave? It's because Naruto was weak, wasn't he? Because he wasn't strong enough to anchor you to Konoha? Because he simply didn't matter?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and recognized that the Kyuubi was only feeding off of Naruto's fears and insecurities. "No, I was the weak one."

Susanoo stepped forward and the ground quaked. The Kyuubi claws glanced of Susanoo's katana. The Kyuubi snarled and Sasuke went blow-to-blow with the Nine-tailed Fox. It was a fight between giants.

Sasuke never felt more satisfied than when he completely chopped off one of the nine tails. Then Sasuke was slapped in the face with the other eight tails and it sent him rolling across the ground. He quickly evaded the Kyuubi's gaping maw and noticed with disappointment that the tail he had just severed grew right back. Sasuke tasted blood on his lips and only now noticed the blood running from his eyes.

Sasuke kicked the Kyuubi in the gut, deflected a slashing talon, cut through the Kyuubi's leg and felt nothing but exhaustion for the effort. The Kyuubi only swayed on his feet with a feral smile and a mocking laugh. The Kyuubi charged suddenly. Claws ripped into the cracks of Susanoo's armor. Sasuke instinctively braced himself as Susanoo faded and there was no longer anything separating Sasuke from the Kyuubi's teeth.

Naruto hiraishined around him, pulled him out the way, and they reappeared tucked underneath a collapsed pile of rubble. For the moment, the Kyuubi was munching on a bunch of shadow clones.

Sasuke wiped the blood away with his sleeve. It felt as if Sasuke's breathing was so harsh that the Kyuubi would hear. He could hold his own against the Kyuubi but he couldn't keep it up forever. He immediately realized this was a fight of endurance. "There's no way to permanently put him down?"

"If that was possibly don't you think I would have done it already?"

"Naruto even if Ame finishes the seal on time, if the Kyuubi does anymore destruction to your mindscape, you'll be brain dead regardless. We've got to stop this rampage somehow, at least temporarily."

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke. It was dark in the crevice where they were hiding and attempting to regenerate some of their chakra for another round. "And if you die here, you'll be stuck in here forever. On the outside, you might as well be brain dead. You don't have to be here Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled darkly. "Naruto, I'd rather be stuck with that bastard and you for all eternity than out there watching you die."

Naruto immediately turned away from the intensity of Sasuke's gaze. It shook Naruto that Sasuke was serious. He would sacrifice everything so that Naruto wouldn't have to face eternity alone if all this went to shit. Naruto jolted back when a sunflower suddenly sprung from the dirt. Naruto glared at his mindscape's betrayal and immediately tried to laugh it down, "Ha, you're going to regret it. I can get annoying after forever."

Sasuke snorted. "I've put up with you for this long."

Naruto sighed when a sudden patch of sunflowers began to blossom. After a while he just gave up and watched the flowers begin to sprout around them. There was a warmth to the flowers that felt like the sun lounging on your face. Naruto motioned to the flowers helplessly, "I'm happy you're here."

Both Naruto and Sasuke tensed when the thud of the Kyuubi's footsteps got closer and closer.

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a grin. He probably shouldn't be so excited, especially when the stakes were so high, but it's been a long time since he and Sasuke have fought side by side. "Let's kick some ass."

Sasuke smirked. "It's what we do best."

Naruto shot like comet from the rubble in sage mode and head-butt the Kyuubi right in the gut. Susanoo materialized in the sky and dived down with a katana to stab the Kyuubi straight through the spine. Kurama roared.

"Great Fireball no jutsu." "Storm Winds no jutsu."

Naruto's wind supplemented Sasuke's fire and exploded over the Kyuubi. It was as if someone had tried to shove the sun into Naruto's mindscape. They were determined not to give the Kyuubi any chance at respite. Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other. They didn't even have to communicate their next move.

The rasenshuriken squealed. The raikiri screeched. Their combined jutsu is what it sounds like when doves cry. They hit what remained of the Kyuubi, shattering and jarring everything loose like a bauble of trinkets.

Bones, fur, and a sludge of insides was the only thing left within the crater that used to be the Kyuubi. But even when Sasuke and Naruto landed, they could see the remains slowly beginning to heal. Both Sasuke and Naruto collapsed back on the ground in victory. It would take some time for the Kyuubi to recover and it should provide enough time for Ame to finish the seal.

"This was the plan."

"Huh?" Naruto turned to Sasuke quizzically.

"It wasn't Tomu. I'm what Orochimaru wanted all along. It's always been me. He wanted me to have the Mangekyou and he manufactured a situation where I would need it. It's always been me."

"I'm not going to let you fight him alone. Believe me, my bone to pick with Orochimaru is getting longer and longer. Shit, I can't believe I let him catch me off-guard like that."

"I should have said yes."

"When?"

"In the ballroom. I would have been there with you."

"No point regretting what could have happened."

"At the very least," Sasuke smirked. "Orochimaru is going to very pissed off if you survive this."

"He better be. I am going to rub it in his face so hard," Naruto proclaimed. "I think at this point, Orochimaru is annoyed that I fuck up his plans all the time."

Sasuke smiled. "Naruto, you fuck up everyone's plans."

"It's my charm," Naruto wittily replied. Then he jumped up with a bounce to his step. He swept an eye around the destroyed horizon. But with a little concentration, the walls began to rebuild themselves and grass began to flourish. Because Naruto knew his mindscape so well, the construction went extremely fast.

"What happened to the sewer?" Sasuke asked once he realized the frame was beginning to resembled the Uzumaki Compound. Ironically, Sasuke's mindscape was a reflection of the Uchiha Compound - what it once was.

"It's still there. Not exactly something I can get rid of but," Naruto pointed to the ground below their feet. "It's where it belongs."

Naruto and Sasuke walked the compound, similar to how they did in real life, as Naruto fixed small details here or there to his liking. The Kyuubi was currently regenerating its second tail but it would still be some time more before the beast roared again. As Sasuke looked around, he was struck by how beautiful this mindscape was. It had come far from the sewers just a few years ago and gave Sasuke hope that even he could fix and heal himself.

"That's weird," Naruto stopped and tilted his head in confusion. His mindscape was usually an eternal twilight with dawn always on the horizon but the sun had crawled closer. It was early morning now. Even from this distance, Naruto could feel the heat of the sun hinting at late spring or early summer. "Why…" Naruto glanced in Sasuke's direction. "Ah."

The moon, the omnipresent metaphor for Hinata had strayed behind him. Naruto looked towards it with some sadness and regret but the heat of the sun was a nice touch to his cheek. Naruto couldn't hide the fact that he was glad Sasuke was here, that Sasuke hadn't run away or lost control. It meant a lot to a man who was so used to fighting this demon alone. Perhaps he could actually begin to rely on Sasuke and that change reflected in Naruto's mindscape.

"This is Team Seven's training ground," Sasuke noted. They had walked the compound all the way to where the Uzumaki training grounds were supposed to be but instead it had been replaced by the training ground of their childhood.

Beside him Naruto frowned. "It's not right." Naruto walked to the stake in the center of it and tapped it until two bells appeared tied around the wood. To the left, there was a burnt tree that Sasuke remembered burning down in a vicious spar a few weeks before they left for the Bridge mission. There were warm memories here, adrenaline like fire in the air, and sweat hanging like dew on the grass.

"Where am I?" Sasuke asked softly. Naruto looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, amused that Sasuke had automatically assumed Naruto had dedicated a part of his mindscape to him.

"Where do you think?" Naruto challenged.

Sasuke looked around and considered the layout of the compound. "My uncle's forge?"

"Nope." Sasuke frowned, finally he shrugged his shoulders. "Sasuke, I've known you practically my entire life. There are little parts of you everywhere," Naruto said as he motioned to the burnt tree. Sasuke carefully approached the tree and frowned when he felt anger and betrayal sticking to the ashes.

"There are happier memory markers. Touch the bells." If the burnt tree were barbed words, then the bells were tired smiles shared after a long sparring practice. "You manifest in different ways."

"What about your shadow clones? How does that affect your mindscape?"

Naruto cringed. He shoved his hands into the pockets of the Kage cloak he wore.

"Sasuke," Naruto said as they began to walk away from the training grounds and meandered toward the workshop. "Do you understand why I personally have to be present for every birthday, and loose tooth, and first steps? It's because I don't want to forget. Sasuke, my shadow clones are short-term memory. They're shadows. They're not solid enough to leave an impression here. That's why, as a rule, I don't let my shadow clones have sex with other people unless it's a mission or it's something really kinky and I'm personally involved. Everything that happened between you and Iraiya on that mission, I no longer remember. With all the shadow clones that I use, and all the memory that I process daily, it's as if it happened lifetimes ago to another person that was never really me."

They walked in silence while Sasuke processed that information. Iraiya had never really been Naruto, but a shadow of him. It was insane how much light Naruto casted that Sasuke fell in love with even his shadows.

Sasuke tucked his hands into his pockets. "I know we've talked about it before but I wanted to make sure you knew that the Kyuubi was wrong. It's not that you didn't matter, it's because you did."

"I know that now," Naruto said. Even though Naruto still considered it twisted logic, he's come to understand that Sasuke cared.

"I love you," Sasuke said with a soft tremble. He was getting more and more used to the words each time he said. They had a sort of power to them that emboldened Sasuke and made him believe that he was a person worthy of loving someone.

Sasuke was surprised when Naruto grinned back. Naruto said with confident ease, "I love you too."

The sun broke across the sky.

* * *

When Sasuke had touched Naruto on the forehead both men had gone still. Naruto had calmed and returned to three tails. Without pause, Sakura and Ame stretched him out on the ground. Ame gasped at the sight of pulled muscles and organs. The bones of Naruto's ribcage peeked out. The burned skin was healing, but slowly. It took everything in Ame not to retch at the sight.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised his stomach isn't completely made out of ramen by now," Ichigo commented as he crouched down beside Naruto's head.

Ame smiled at Ichigo's dark joke. She rubbed her eyes and knew she had to continue. She was applying the seal to Naruto's chakra pathways, not his skin, and that hadn't been burned away. She dipped the brush and used her own chakra to connect her with Naruto.

When she was almost half-way through, suddenly all three tails and the chakra cloak completely dissolved. Ame's heart dropped. "Is he dead?"

Sakura immediately felt for a pulse. "No, he's alive."

"Is the Fox dead?"

"No," Ichigo said as he sensed the natural chakra in their surroundings. "The Kyuubi's chakra is still there but it has been suppressed temporarily." Just as Ichigo said the words, Naruto's wounds began to heal more quickly and his skin knitted underneath the ink Ame had suspended over his pathways.

"Good job you guys," Sakura said as she tightened her hold of Sasuke's hand who laid prone next to Naruto. "Keep fighting."

Tomu sat beside Sasuke with a bloody towel around his empty eye sockets. Tomu didn't want to pull Sakura's time and attention away from Naruto in case things went wrong. Tomu could wait for an eye transplant when they reached a more sterile and safer environment.

When Ame finished the last curve she stared at the completed seal. She looked toward Sakura. "I don't really remember Dad's old seal. Does it look right?"

Sakura squinted. "Yeah, I think so."

Ame took a deep breath and reached her fingers to touch the seal. She activated it with chakra. It glowed deep red, threading and intertwining deep within Naruto's chakra pathways to reach the demonic chakra within. It settled black on his stomach.

* * *

Beads of sweat gathered at Naruto's brow. Sasuke's arm began to shake from exhaustion. Their eyes were locked in defiance. The cool spring air swept past them and the sun shone brightly on the two seven-year old boys locked in intense competition. Neither wanted to lose their epic arm-wrestling match. There was more than pride on the line. Loser takes first round with the Kyuubi when he recovers.

A thunderous cage dropped out of the sky and around the Kyuubi's seven tails. Naruto's attention snapped towards the seal that twisted and locked around the doors.

Naruto's hand suddenly snapped back. "Hey!" The high-pitched voice of a seven-year cried out. "That's not fair. You cheated."

"You should have been paying attention," Sasuke said smugly as he crossed his arms.

"Teme!" Naruto narrowed his eyes, then pushed Sasuke on the shoulder and shouted. "Tag, you're it!"

Naruto raced off down the hill of sunflowers. Sasuke pushed himself off the ground and immediately followed. Naruto's joy was infectious. Sasuke was laughing as he ran after Naruto with the sort of unbridled and innocent joy he thought had once been burned out of him. Sasuke cut Naruto off at the playground and tackled Naruto into the grainy sand.

"Naruto," Sasuke said like an older brother who had to suck the fun out of everything. "Playtime is over. It's time to wake up."

Naruto pouted. "No, let's keep playing." He wiggled his eyebrows. "We can mock Kurama when he wakes up. It's the bestest fun."

Sasuke regarded Naruto sadly. "I can't have you all to myself. What about everyone else? Don't you miss them."

"I'll miss them later. Right now let's play."

"Don't worry, I'll be there when you wake up."

"But not like this," Naruto said softly. "You don't laugh out there."

"I-" Sasuke didn't have anything to say to that. "I'm remembering how. Wake up, dobe. I'll always be there, I promise."

Naruto reached up and slapped his hands against Sasuke's cheeks. "I know, because you're my best friend forever."

* * *

Sasuke smelled antiseptic, and bleach, and winter snow: Konoha's hospital.

Sasuke pulled the IV needle out his arm. If they had to feed him, it meant he's been out for several days. The window was slightly opened and breathed life into the stale room. Naruto lay on the next bed over. There were no external wounds as evidence to the Kyuubi's close escape.

Sasuke heard heels marching down the hallway and it was almost surreal how he immediately recognized that they belonged to Sakura – the red ones with the right heel worn down. The door slammed open. Immediately Sakura flung her arms around Sasuke.

"How long?"

"Four days," Sakura said. Sasuke frowned. He knew time was skewed in the mindscape but he could not believe it had taken that long to get back. Sakura smirked. "You know, we brought Ino in to take a look and make sure everything was alright in there. Ino laughed. Said you two were goofing off and you'll wake up on your own time."

Sasuke flushed embarrassed. He didn't get enough time to defend himself as apparently someone had also informed a member of the Uzumaki Clan because everyone suddenly hiraishined in all at once. And all at once, everyone's face fell when they saw it was Sasuke and not Naruto who was awake. Sasuke simply reached over and flicked Naruto on the ear.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted as he snapped up in bed and covered his ear.

"Dad!" Naruto was bum rushed. Naruto blinked several times to get his bearings, then a great smile cracked over his face. Naruto collected a group of children in his arms and began hugging every single one. Naruto broke out into tears when he saw Boruto and moved his hands over his unharmed son.

"You should have seen it," Tomu said, who had collapsed back into a hospital chair instead of joining the stampede. "Apparently Konoha took Boruto and the Uzumaki Clan came to the rescue. The Hokage Tower is still tilted because Zhou ate an entire block of the foundation."

The story came out all at once from many different mouths of their daring rescue. Even Sakura's twins had been involved and had let loose the entire Inuzuka dog pound in the Tower's walls. It was a tale to make the Clan founder proud.

"And these two, they fought the Fox and gave Sakura the time to transplant my eyes. Ichigo led Boruto's rescue and Ame finished the seal. You've got some amazing kids Naruto," Sakura complimented.

Naruto eyes searched for his heirs and reached his arms out for them. Ame broke down into tears only when Naruto pulled her in for a hug. Ichigo curled into his lap. "I love you all. I love you so much." Naruto didn't usually cry in front of his kids but he had come so close to losing them this time. You could make a river out of the Uzumaki tears in that hospital room.

Sasuke turned when his bed dipped and Tomu sat beside him with dark eyes. As Sasuke still had the Mangekyou, apparently Tomu received an eye transplant while Sasuke was out. It almost startled Sasuke when Tomu pulled him into a hug. Tomu was hugging him with the same relief and concern that the kids were showing Naruto, as if Tomu might miss him if he was gone.

"I was scared for a little there that both you and Naruto might not make it back," Tomu said. "Glad you're okay."

Sasuke pulled out of Tomu's arms with a shrug. "I'm okay. He's not dead."

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto who was listening with sincere attention at all the things he missed in the past four days. Naruto hugged and kissed and smiled at everyone in the room, so extremely grateful for one more day to spend with the people he loved.

Some people believed that Naruto really did have nine lives or that he was extremely lucky. But Sasuke realized it was none of those things. It was the people around Naruto who loved him so much that they were willing to fight for him until the very last heartbeat. That's the strength of bonds.

* * *

**Who knows, maybe after a thousand years, we might even become friends.**

* * *

**x**


	22. The Valley of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted two chapters at once. So you might need to go back a chapter. Also, there is only one last chapter after this.

Sasuke stared with regret at the unfinished pieces of Kusanagi. He had run out of time. Sasuke folded a cloth over the metal and left the broken sword to Tenten in a note. Maybe one day she'll figure it out. Sasuke hitched Zatoichi to his belt, closed the door to his uncle's forge-house, and walked into a cold night.

Then Sasuke Uchiha left the compound.

He wasn't surprised to find Sakura tapping her foot underneath the light of the street lamp. She had been tapping her feet back then, years ago. He had thought perhaps she was nervous or impatient but Sasuke knew now that there was always a song running a current through her limbs. Sakura sat on the wooden bench as if she was simply out enjoying the winter air.

When Sasuke passed her, he had to stop and ask, "You're not going to convince me to stay?"

"You do realize I could just knock _you_ out this time around?" Sakura shrugged. And her foot tapped like purple rain on cobblestones. "I'll always be here. My door is always open."

* * *

Was it irony or fate that Naruto would use the hiraishin seal on Sasuke's shoulder just as Sasuke was passing the Valley of the End?

When Sasuke turned, he met Naruto's absolutely furious expression. It was obvious Naruto had just pulled himself out of bed as Naruto had showed up with just his pajamas on. There were animated sketches of kunai and shuriken decorating the pajama bottoms.

"What. The. Fuck. Sasuke?"

"Orochimaru almost killed you. I have to kill him before he finally succeeds."

"Sasuke," Naruto said with tense patience on his breath. Naruto tried to calm himself down. He understood Sasuke a lot better than he had as a child. "My near-death triggered you. This is just another one of your episodes."

"No, _it's not_." Sasuke snapped. Sasuke was offended that Naruto would dare use that against him. Sasuke was sane and in his right mind this time. He knew what he was doing.

" _Sasuke_ , this is exactly what Orochimaru wants. He's expecting you to seek revenge. He wants you. He wants the Mangekyou. This is a trap."

"Orochimaru needs to die."

"Yes, but no one should face Orochimaru alone. Running off blindly will only get you killed. We don't even know where he-"

"If he's expecting me, he's at the same fucking base where he trained me. I'm done being played with. I'm going to end this. I need to end this."

"We will end it, together."

Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other from across the chasm of the valley. They were here again. Back then, they had been two traumatized little boys trying to keep their worlds from falling apart. Not much has changed.

"No."

Sasuke wasn't going to let Orochimaru harm anyone else close to him. It was too close this time. He needed to end Orochimaru and he couldn't come back to Konoha without doing so. He'll never be able to sleep without doing so. Sasuke has had enough of Naruto's platitudes. He would rather walk away if that meant Naruto lives.

"Don't you see, Sasuke? This is exactly where we were before. You're going down the exact same path."

"This is different," Sasuke has thought about this a lot since they woke up in the hospital. There was no happy ending for him. This is always the path he had to take. "It's different because I'm right this time."

"You thought you were right the last time."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't have a reply to that other than the shield of his purpose and anger. Naruto just didn't understand. Sasuke said a quiet and final, "no."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. "Please tell me this isn't the 'I'm leaving you because I love you bullshit?'"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"It is bullshit." Naruto hated that stupid excuse. He hated that stupid fucked-up logic. "You're leaving because you're scared. You're leaving because you got scared watching me die. But I didn't." Naruto surged forward and attempted to stop Sasuke from making a decision he would not only regret, but also get him killed. Naruto caught him by the arm and Sasuke swiveled and caught Naruto with a right hook.

Naruto swallowed the pain around his bruised right eye even though the Kyuubi's chakra was already beginning to heal it. Naruto had taken many punches from Sasuke before, it wasn't even the hardest, but this one knocked the air from his soul. Sasuke hovered above him and spat viciously. "Let me go Naruto. All I'm going to do is hurt you. I can't help it."

Naruto stood back up and Sasuke unsheathed his sword. He pointed the katana at Naruto's chest. Naruto gritted his teeth determined and walked forward until the point of it rested against his chest. "You're not going to kill me, Sasuke. You couldn't even do it then. You're not going to do it now."

"But I will do what I have to do to keep you from following me. Don't make me do this, Naruto. Orochimaru has already taken everything. I can't afford for him to take you too."

Naruto had no doubt Sasuke was serious. Neither men wanted this to turn into a fight. They had learned the hard way that fists and blows didn't change a thing. There was nothing Naruto could do but send a plea along the edge of Sasuke's sword.

"Don't let him win, Sasuke."

Sasuke gave Naruto a wild look as he took several steps back, as if the distance would help him escape Naruto's sphere of influence and there was sanity at the edge.

The further Sasuke moved away, leaving Naruto behind, the more frightened Naruto became. He had begun to finally trust Sasuke again. And all Naruto's fears and insecurities began to swarm back. He couldn't stop Sasuke the last time so why should he bother trying? Naruto was a fool to believe that there was a future for the both of them.

"I hate you, Sasuke." Naruto muttered bitterly. "I hate the way you come in to my life and rip me apart. I can't believe I Iet you do this to me again. Teme. I'm not chasing after you this time."

It was hard to hear the pain in Naruto's voice and to know he was the only thing Naruto ever gave up on. Sasuke closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and forced himself to walk away. "I'm sorry."

This was for the best. There were so many times when Sasuke wished he could go back to that moment so many years ago and choose Naruto. But this wasn't the same thing. He was older, and smarter, and he had learned his lesson, hadn't he? He wasn't going to let Orochimaru manipulate him this time.

He couldn't let Orochimaru win.

Sasuke's legs became heavier and heavier. A weight crushed his chest. Doubt began to seep in. Was Naruto right? Was this all in his head? Was he so twisted and fucked up he couldn't see the right way? As the panic began to rise, Sasuke stumbled forward and clung to the closest tree. He began to perform his fire-breathing lung exercises because they worked better to calm him than counting to ten. He focused on the taste of ash in his throat and the heat of fire on his tongue. He didn't know how long he stood there, perhaps seconds or several minutes.

Sasuke shuddered in acute horror. Oh kami, what was he doing? This is what Orochimaru wanted. Orochimaru wanted him angry. He wanted Sasuke ruined and his life upturned by his presence.

Sasuke was almost too afraid to turn around, to see if Naruto was gone, to see if Naruto with good cause had abandoned him. When Sasuke turned back, Naruto was there. They both stood like lost men who had realized how close to the precipice of a mistake they had come.

Naruto rushed forward, catching Sasuke in his arms. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm so sorry. I don't care how much it hurts. I love you, teme. I love you so much. I'll chase after you and I'll drag your ass back to Konoha every damn time. I'm not giving up on you."

Sasuke trembled in aching relief. Naruto hadn't given up on him. Naruto still wanted him no matter how close Sasuke had come to walking away. Sasuke gave wordless sobs. What was wrong with him? What was so wrong with him that he would choose Orochimaru? How could he have come so close to losing it? Even after so many years later?

"I want to get better for you," Sasuke sobbed. "But I'm not. I almost chose Orochimaru."

Naruto pulled Sasuke's wet cheeks to look at him fiercely and gave a wide smile Sasuke felt he didn't deserve. "But you didn't. You turned back."

* * *

"I have a plan," Naruto grinned foxishly even more so now that the Kyuubi was right underneath the surface.

Sasuke was skeptical. He chose Naruto in the end but it didn't mean he believed they could figure out a magical way of killing Orochimaru. When Sakura leaned forward into the conversation the neon colored lights of the karaoke room reflected off her cheek. Sasuke could hear the off-key notes from an older couple down the hallway. He was only here because they would probably get drunk by the end of this night as they were accustomed to do.

Naruto fixed Sasuke with a firm stare. "The night Orochimaru attacked, you made the decision to let Hinata go after Orochimaru. She didn't catch him but it was the right call. Through her byakugan she had a chance to witness Orochimaru use his technique. When Orochimaru steals a body there is a five second window where he is rendered completely defenseless. That is how we win."

"Five seconds is a narrow window." Sakura chewed on her bottom lip.

"It's big enough to stab a kunai through his throat. We know Orochimaru wants Sasuke with the Mangekyou. We'll use Sasuke as bait and once we kill Orochimaru, I'll have my teams already out in the field prepared to strike everyone under Orochimaru's control."

"It sounds too risky. What if Orochimaru does succeed in taking over Sasuke?" Sakura glanced over at Sasuke to see if he was going to add any input. There was a visible frown on Sasuke's face.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's too easy."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"After all these months do you really think killing Orochimaru is as simple as a kunai to the throat? This has to be a trick. It has to be a trap. It's simply too easy."

"Sometimes it can be this easy," Naruto said softly, barely audible over the blasting pop song from the other room. "We didn't understand Orochimaru's motivation or what he really wanted. But we do now. He wants you with the Mangekyou and we can use that to bait him. Before, we didn't know how his improved jutsu worked but we do now. Sasuke, why did Kusuro defeat me even though I'm a leagues more powerful than he is?"

"Because he knew how."

"Exactly. Sasuke, information if the greatest weapon a ninja can have. It levels the playing field between a genin and a Jounin. Orochimaru was forced to show his hand when he came after me. Now it's our turn. We just have to play the right card."

"It would not have been easy by yourself," Sakura reminded Sasuke. "This plan would not have been an option if you had gone alone. And despite what you might think Sasuke, a five-second window and using you as bait isn't a genin mission."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Besides, in case Kusuro decided to betray me, I had you there as back-up because we are a team and you strengthen my weaknesses. Together, we can defeat Orochimaru."

Sasuke was certain that both of them were fools. But there were aspects of this plan that he did like, namely that he would be the primary one in danger. If something went wrong, Naruto and Sakura still had the option to flee even though he doubted that would be the case. What was the point of turning back in the Valley if Orochimaru was going to kill them all anyways?

He suddenly remembered when Naruto gave him an encouraging smile. They'll die together at least. "Whatever, just order the sake Sakura."

Sakura didn't know why it had taken her so long. Within five minutes, the table was completely covered in alcohol, a completely unhealthy amount for just three people.

For the first time, Naruto didn't hesitate to pour everyone shots. "To the first loser who chooses A Hero's Comeback." If someone chose that song, you knew they were drunk.

"Whoa, hey!" Sakura declared as she grabbed Naruto's arm. "You cheat. You're on your old seal. You can't get drunk."

Naruto gave Sakura a bewildered innocent expression. "Really? I had completely forgotten!"

Naruto cackled with a laugh, avoided Sakura's annoyed and grumpy kick, and retreated out the room to catch a quick restroom break. Sakura pouted. Usually she was tipsy by the time Naruto and Sasuke were flat-out drunk. It always turned out to be an endless amount of entertainment for her as she was the one who usually remembered the most from their karaoke nights.

"I guess it would be irresponsible to get completely hammered the night before we face Orochimaru," Sakura sighed. She glanced over at Sasuke and motioned to all of the bottles. "I'd ask if we could keep all the alcohol at your place but," Sakura glanced down at the shot Sasuke just took. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Sasuke grunted as he poured himself another one. Sakura reached to still his hand before he drank everything by himself. "Sasuke, it's going to be okay."

Sasuke looked at her flatly. Because in what world has Orochimaru showed up and everything was okay? Sakura leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "I'm glad you came back."

"You knew I would."

Sakura revealed secrets between her smile. "You're far stronger than you give yourself credit for, Sasuke."

Sasuke scoffed and released his hold on the shot glass. "I don't know if I'll even be able to sleep tonight," Sasuke mumbled.

"Everything alright?" Naruto asked as he entered the room.

Sakura gave a thoughtful pause and smacked her lips. "Yeah. But Karaoke is getting old. Let's do something different tonight?"

"What do you have in mind?"

* * *

The kunai slashed across Sakura's shirt and revealed a black sports bra underneath. Sakura's knee barely grazed past Naruto's ribs as Naruto flipped back and tumbled around the sharp end of Sasuke's kunai. Three kunai moved so fast it looked as if someone was writing silver kanji through the air.

A three-way spar, strictly taijutsu, no chakra, a kunai each.

The quick wound across Naruto's abdomen healed but the blood dried and crusted on his skin. The entirety of Sasuke's shirt was heavy with sweat and he should have thrown it off at the start of the match like Naruto had done. Sakura hadn't realized her hair has grown out so much. It was getting in her way again.

Sasuke moved with the grace and power of a jungle cat, sleek black, and deadly intent. Naruto was as off-balance as a monkey at play, difficult to predict or catch. Sakura was a fucking elephant. You simply move out of her way.

The world stopped spinning.

Sasuke's kunai stopped a slice away from Sakura's throat. Sakura's kunai pinned Naruto's heart. Naruto's kunai pressed between the slip of Sasuke's ribs. If anyone released a breath, bodies would move, skin would break, someone could die. They snapped apart all at once.

Naruto collapsed back and flopped against the ground like a wet starfish. Sakura caught herself hard on her butt. Sasuke laid back on his arms, closing his eyes and feeling the adrenaline rush through his ears. His muscles were burning with well-deserved exercise. He felt better and less like the world was suffocating.

"I can't believe this place hasn't changed," Sakura said as she looked out over the old Team Seven training grounds. Lately Sakura trained at the Lee's dojo and Naruto had his own training grounds in the Uzumaki compound. This place belonged to various other genin teams now. "It's a blessing we're still here. Team 8 has lost Kiba. Team 10 lost Asuma and Chouji. Team Guy has lost Maito Guy."

"We've lost Kakashi and Sai," Naruto finished. "It's almost ironic, that we'd be the three left."

Sakura reached out, hooked her arms around their necks, and dragged her boys into her arms. Somehow, out of nowhere, Sakura dragged a bottle of sake into her lap.

"Where that come from?" Naruto asked. More than once, Naruto wondered how many things Sakura learned under Tsunade's apprenticeship. Even after all these years, Sakura still had surprises for him.

"To Team Seven," Sakura toasted. Sasuke was too much in a good place to feel grumpy about it and echoed Sakura's toast with sincerity. They laughed about the genin missions they used to groan and complain through. They recounted they're favorite missions and whispered the more terrifying ones like a ghost among the leaves. With nostalgia, they remembered their shenanigans trying to take off Kakashi's mask and the copy-ninja's oddball ticks and habits.

"He was even cremated in that mask," Sakura chuckled, and then swept her head back with a yawn. "I better get back home. Kohei always let the twins stay up all night when I'm out and pretend to jump in the bed when I get home." She gave a wicked wink. "It's a little bit earlier than usual. I probably still have the chance to scare them."

Naruto grinned. "Who am I to get in the way of a well-executed prank?"

Sakura smiled and waved over her shoulder. Naruto picked himself up and looked towards Sasuke. They communicated with small gestures and unconscious knowing. Naruto helped Sasuke off his feet and they walked back towards the compound. Even though it was the middle of winter, Sasuke pulled off his shirt and tossed it over his shoulder. The cool air on his skin was freeing.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow when Naruto quickly deflected his gaze, as if Naruto had been checking him out and he was still undecided about it all. "Your scar is still there even though the Kyuubi healed everything else."

"The Kyuubi couldn't heal it the first time I got it." Naruto looked down and brushed his hand down the translucent scar that marred his cheek and stretched down his body. "I wouldn't want him to heal it anyways. It's a part of me now. It's the first time I came to dying."

"You've never really talked about it."

"I usually don't. And you were pretty on point with your first assessment." Naruto scratched at the scar on his cheek. "It was an ANBU mission."

They strolled towards the compound as Naruto retold one of the hardest missions of his life. "It should have killed me. It would have killed me if I wasn't a Jinchuuriki. Sometimes the Fox is a curse but it has saved my life a thousand times over. Oh shut the fuck up." Sasuke turned to Naruto at the non-sequitur but Naruto continued as if he hadn't said anything out the ordinary, "I've just learned to accept it."

Several seconds later, Naruto abruptly stopped. "I'm not the one whining like a little girl. It's not my fault you've got to make life difficult for the both of us."

It took a moment for Sasuke to realize Naruto was talking to the Fox. Curious, Sasuke activated his Mangekyou.

 **What else is there to do but make your life difficult?** **I don't see any crossword puzzles in here.**

"You need a hobby Kurama. Why don't you try painting?"

**With your blood.**

"Tch. Real imaginative."

"He doesn't seem the type to appreciate art anyways," Sasuke off-handedly replied.

An abrupt pause, like a mental period in Naruto's thoughts. Naruto looked up at Sasuke startled. Inactively Naruto began to grow embarrassed that he had been, to what other people saw, talking to himself again – a problem he obviously hasn't had in a while. Only slowly did he comprehend what Sasuke had actually said. "Wait, you can hear him?"

"The Mangekyou." Sasuke said as if adding extra syllables to the word could help Naruto comprehend the obvious.

The absolute joy that rose across Naruto's face was blinding. " _You can hear him?!_ Why didn't you ever tell me?" The fact that someone else could hear Kurama was a novelty.

**Perhaps shit wouldn't be so boring if I didn't have to listen to the Uchiha's angst all day. His endless woe-is-me-my-entire-clan-of-dickbags-were-killed-and-I still-haven't-sucked-it-the-fuck-up is torture.**

On second thought...

"Kurama, shut up. Sasuke, deactivate your Mangekyou. I'm used to this. You don't have to listen to him."

"Still touchy I kicked your ass?" Sasuke snapped in return. Naruto could only groan because this was not going to end pretty.

**You only beat me with Naruto holding your hand. You can't even find your way back to Konoha without Naruto holding your hand. Or perhaps the Snake's dick tastes that good you can't help but go running towards him whenever he sniffs around.**

"Sasuke, deactivate your Mangekyou." Naruto snapped with the commanding voice of the Hokage. Sasuke jolted and realized he had slammed Naruto into the tree. His chakra was sparking with volatile cracks of lightning that were burning Naruto's skin. With a growl, Sasuke released Naruto, deactivated his sharingan, and stormed off.

Naruto ran to catch up. "I'm sorry. He's an asshole. Just ignore him." Sasuke turned quickly onto the small trail through the trees. "Hey Sasuke." Sasuke whirled around in agitation and frustration when Naruto grabbed his arm. He viciously yanked Naruto's hand off him.

"Give me ten minutes."

"But-"

"Ten minutes," Sasuke repeated harshly, and then softened. "I'm coming back home." Then Sasuke set off by himself.

Sasuke followed the animal trail he knew led to the river, which would take him back around to the compound eventually. He rubbed his face in frustration. The Kyuubi was an ass, Sasuke knew that but he had gotten so angry because there were some things Kurama didn't have the right to say. He knew Naruto had missed it but it made Sasuke uncomfortable.

After all, Naruto had warned him not to pick a verbal fight with Kurama. It was Sasuke's fault for forging on and thinking he was harder and tougher than he actually was.

Sasuke might have meandered for a few hours, going over and over in his head in indecision. But did he really have to say it? Didn't Naruto know already? Wasn't it obvious? Sasuke soon regretted taking so long when he returned to the compound to find Naruto wide-eyed and lost. Naruto stared around helplessly at the cold bowls of ramen as if to say he didn't know what else to do with himself.

"You can warm them up," Sasuke told Naruto as he leaned against the kitchen island.

Naruto breathed in relief to be given some instruction on what to do. Naruto immediately began reheating the noodles.

It was almost hard to keep up with their relationship. It was always changing. There was always some new dynamic. Some other little thing that needed to be discussed. Sasuke wasn't sure how their current foray into the Valley of the End has changed them.

Naruto placed a bowl of ramen in front of Sasuke and they began to eat in silence.

"Honestly, I never thought you'd upgrade from instant cups."

"Heart problem. I told you about that right? Anyways, banned from the house. Had to learn to make ramen from scratch. I even worked at Ichiraku's for two weeks to get it right." Naruto's chopsticks clanked loudly.

"I thought you had the option of listening to the Kyuubi? Can't you thrust him into your subconscious again?"

The red in Naruto's cheeks was more than the heat of the bowl. Naruto shrugged. "I sort of miss him." Naruto drank a great gulp of broth, rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, whatever. You know you do too."

Then Naruto abruptly swiveled his attention back to Sasuke knowing that giving the Fox attention in the first place had been the beginning of whatever happened on their walk back to the compound. Naruto's shoulders hunched defensively. "I'm sorry for what happened."

"You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted some space."

"Okay." Naruto was still getting accustomed to the fact Sasuke could go walk on his own without trying to destroy Konoha or running away.

Sasuke sighed. He placed his chopsticks down. "You know about me and Orochimaru right?"

"Huh? Yeah, he trained you for two years."

Sasuke could audibly hear the seconds ticking past. Sakura had guessed. They didn't need a conversation about it. Or perhaps they did, eventually, when Sasuke was ready. And perhaps he was ready to do this now with Naruto, now that Sasuke knew his ties here were too strong to let him drift back to Orochimaru.

"During those two years with Orochimaru, he raped me. He took my virginity when I was twelve years old."

Naruto looked as if Sasuke had bludgeoned him with the ramen bowl. Naruto stood up with a blank expression and then began to pace around the kitchen, processing. Naruto was livid. It was no secret that the Konoha 11 had always treated Orochimaru's pedophilic tendencies as a joke. But it had just been humor to soften the horrific reality of the monster underneath it all. Naruto was angry. He was angry at Konoha for wiping their hands and giving up on Sasuke after one failed mission. He was angry at himself for not trying harder even if he knew he had done everything he could.

"Don't blame yourself Naruto. Nothing would have changed. At twelve, I thought I was the smartest person in the world and no one could tell me what to do." In the end, Naruto was more upset than Sasuke but Sasuke has had time to deal and move through it. Talking it out with his therapist and framing Orochimaru's manipulation for what it really was had helped. "I just wanted you to know. You know now."

Because Sasuke would be damned if Naruto finally puts it together because of the Kyuubi's offhand comments. They were words Sasuke needed to say himself.

" _Two years_." Naruto said mostly to himself. Naruto would like to believe he wasn't willfully ignorant but he probably could have connected the dots on his own if it wasn't for his penchant for optimism and looking for the best in people. It was like shining a light on the shadows in corners he didn't know was there. Naruto sat back down, his world shaken a bit, and remembered this was not about him. Naruto said shakily, a little unsure, "I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it."

"We don't need to."

"Are you going to be okay for tomorrow? You don't have to you know. It's never too late to back out."

Sasuke gave Naruto a stupid look because there was no way he was backing out of this. If there was a chance at Orochimaru, no matter how slim, even if it was a trap, he had to take it. "Naruto, just eat your ramen."

Naruto smiled, a sight Sasuke was happy to see. Naruto leaned forward and slurped up a mouthful of noodles. He glanced up at intervals at Sasuke. Naruto couldn't help it. Sasuke had trusted him with something important. Sasuke had come home. Sasuke had turned back. For the first time, that lingering fear that Sasuke would just up and disappear was gone. Sasuke couldn't help but notice Naruto's rising giddiness.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," Naruto said. Chopsticks clattered. He brought their two empty ramen bowls in the sink. Sasuke watched Naruto's back questioningly. Something had changed, again, between them and Sasuke couldn't figure out what it was.

Perhaps he should just ask. "Are we okay after the Valley?"

Naruto tilted his head to look at Sasuke over shoulder. "Yeah. Wait, you don't think we are?"

"I can't decide. What the fuck are you prancing about for?"

"Oh, I just…" Naruto sat the dried bowls to the right side of the sink. "I feel as if this is the best we've been in a long time, you know? Like I can finally breathe for some inexplicable reason. It's like nothing about Orochimaru really matters because we've already worked the important stuff out."

"He almost killed you, twice."

"Yes, I know. Okay, fine, killing him is important but…" Naruto bit his lip. "We're going to be okay. It finally doesn't seem like just hope anymore." Naruto breathed and said it again. "We're okay."

Sasuke smiled as he stared at Naruto and whispered softly. "Yeah Naruto, we're okay."

* * *

The next day, Naruto was a ball of energy. Sasuke could hardly keep up as Naruto made preparations, ordered men into position, and surveyed the area surrounding Orochimaru's hideout with buoyed enthusiasm. It was at these moments, Sasuke appreciated Sakura's more down-to-earth demeanor.

"What did you two do last night?" Sakura asked with outright suspicion.

"We talked."

"You seriously can't think I believe that," Sakura squinted Sasuke. Naruto was glowing. If Orochimaru killed them all today, Naruto was probably going to die with a dumb smile on his face. "I haven't seen Naruto this happy since," Sakura paused. "Shit, Sasuke. What the fuck did you do?"

" _We talked_." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders helplessly. It was nice to be the reason why Naruto was so happy but it only made Sasuke grow more nervous the closer they got to Orochimaru. He didn't think this was going to end up anything but terrible. Oddly enough, Sasuke woke up that morning feeling empty. It was so unlike Sasuke. Usually he was filled with emotions he was constantly trying to control. Usually he had a purpose. But Naruto had taken his vengeance at the Valley of the End and stamped it out with his foot. Naruto had taken his anger and said it wasn't needed. What else could possibly motivate him onwards?

"The area is clear," Naruto reported when he hiraishined back to their location. "It's as if Orochimaru didn't even bother with defenses, stupidly so certain you'd walk right into this. There's no doubt this is some sort of trap."

"And we're still walking right into it," Sasuke lamented.

Naruto turned to looked at him, bright blue eyes skipping stones over his skin. "Sasuke, we need to talk."

They were moments away from confronting Orochimaru, Sasuke could see the door to the hideout in the distance between the foliage, and Naruto wanted to talk now. Sasuke turned with a great huff over his shoulder. Sakura non too subtly began scouting their perimeter to give them a moment of privacy. From the waggle of Sakura eyebrows, she seemed to think they were going to have one of those moments like in Icha Icha where the main couple kissed right before the big fight - because in the end, Sakura would always be a romantic.

"Hey, Sasuke, what's wrong? You seem off ever since waking up this morning."

At this point, Sasuke felt as if he was repeating himself. "Naruto, this isn't going to work."

"We need to try. Just a couple of days ago you were willing to confront Orochimaru. You were willing to take that chance. What's so different now?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. It was so hard to put it in words. "You. Sakura. If I was alone, there's nothing to lose. And facing Orochimaru seems surmountable if I was doing it for you. But you've made it quite clear you don't need me for your vengeance."

"Sasuke, you can't go in there and confront Orochimaru for me, or Sakura, or Tomu. You need to confront him for you. You shouldn't need vengeance or anger. The only motivation you need is the will and determination to fight for yourself."

Sasuke leaned back against the bark of a tree. It was a surreal idea. He fought for power to avenge his dead clansmen. He vowed vengeance on Konoha for Itachi. Fighting for himself wasn't an idea he was used to. What was so special about Sasuke Uchiha that was worth fighting for?

It was as if Naruto was reading the question straight from Sasuke's thoughts because Naruto immediately insisted, "Sasuke, you are a survivor. You're intelligent and a prodigy at things I barely comprehend. You're a teacher. You're a cousin. You're the world's coolest uncle. And you're my best friend." Naruto reached and combed his hands back through Sasuke's hair. Then Naruto said shyly, "You are worth it to me. After we defeat Orochimaru-"

"Naruto-" Sasuke couldn't possibly begin to fathom a world in which they defeat Orochimaru.

"No, after we defeat Orochimaru, we are going to go home and we are going to eat dinner. What are we going to eat tonight?"

Sasuke grunted in surrender. "Tomato Basil Salmon and rice."

"And pie. I'm craving pie. Ooh, Bear Country has the best plum pie."

Naruto shook Sasuke by the shoulders.

"Hn. Fine. Plum pie."

Naruto's grip on Sasuke's shoulders tightened, holding on, reminding Sasuke that there was people who cared about him. "You are worth fighting for."

Those words hit Sasuke somewhere in the sensitive center Naruto always had a knack of exposing. Because maybe if even one person believed in him, he could do the same. Sasuke gave a silent nod filled with emotion he couldn't express properly through his throat. Sasuke wanted so much to be the person Naruto thought he was. He wanted to prove that he was that person that turned back around in the Valley of the End. He wanted to be the man that his mother always hoped he could become, despite the massacre, despite Konoha, despite Itachi, and despite Orochimaru.

In the end, Naruto was right. He had to do this for himself.

* * *

Sasuke walked the last steps toward Orochimaru's hideout alone. If the plan was going to work, he had to be that Sasuke from a few days ago – that angry desperate Sasuke that had stormed off to find Orochimaru on his own. Sasuke had to convince Orochimaru that the Snake had won and everything had gone according to his plan.

Sasuke swiped his chakra through the seal. Orochimaru hadn't bothered to change the code. Of course, Orochimaru wouldn't be waiting for him in the training room, or the library, or the lab, but in his bedroom, the same room that Sasuke had indiscriminately attacked him all those years ago. Sasuke almost half-expected the ghost of Orochimaru lying in bed growing increasingly sick but instead, Orochimaru was lounging in bed, reading a signed copy of Icha Icha of all things.

When Sasuke stepped into the room, Orochimaru said casually, "Took you long enough Sasuke-kun." He placed the book to the side and looked at Sasuke almost amused. There was a hunger in which he stared at Sasuke's sharingan. "It seems that the Fox survived, or I assumed so as the entirety of Fire Country isn't destroyed by a rampaging demon by now. How many lives does that kid have? It's almost fun whittling them down."

Sasuke recognized Orochimaru was goading him. And if Sasuke had come alone, full of his anger and his vengeance, without the pressure of Naruto and Sakura's lives depending on him just outside, he would have charged in without thought. But the plan was to fall into his trap, so Sasuke did what Orochimaru was expecting.

He unsheathed his sword and charged Orochimaru. Sasuke was barely surprised when he stabbed through a clone that twisted into a snake around his arm and sank fangs deep into his skin. Sasuke ripped the snake away from him.

The entire room turned into a pit of snakes. Sasuke's foot was dragged down. His head hit back against the bed and a slither of snakes moved over his skin. Even through the sharingan, Sasuke couldn't tell if the snakes were real or if he had been bitten by a hallucinogenic.

Sasuke lost a grip on his sword and despite this being all a part of the plan, he couldn't stave off the panic. Orochimaru moved into Sasuke's periphery vision and caressed his thumb around Sasuke's eye. It was so startling how Orochimaru was so certain he's already won that Sasuke was beginning to believe it.

Orochimaru was so certain that Sasuke had come alone. Orochimaru was so certain that he knew Sasuke when Sasuke had left the person he used to be behind in the Valley of the End.

"You're mine." Orochimaru petted him. "You'll always be mine."

Then Orochimaru tongue shoved into Sasuke's mouth, down his throat, and into his body to discard of Sasuke's soul – as if the soul was an unneeded frivolous thing.

In the Valley of the End, the statues of Madara and Hashirama, of Uchiha and Senju, stood poised locked together in eternal confrontation. Their visages had been memorialized in the very valley that they had created on the border of Fire and Sound. The valley, now overgrown with wild fauna and dense forest, had been formed as a result of Madara and Hashirama's rivalry. It was a physical scar left upon the earth from their battle. The river drew the line. Hashirama bordered the Land of Fire, a representation of loyalty and all the principles valued in ninja. Madara bordered the Land of Sound, a representation of changed alliances and his defection.

Which is why Sasuke was beyond bewildered to find the two iconic statues with hands clasped in conciliation. In Konoha, the sight would be considered blasphemy, just the idea that Madara might be deserving of forgiveness.

Sasuke's attention snapped into focus at the feel of fingers clawing over his skin. "Yes Sasuke, my beautiful Sasuke, give me everything that you are."

Sasuke stared blankly at Orochimaru, uncomprehending. Then a shiver of disgust and repulsion traveled all the way down to Sasuke's boots. Orochimaru tore Sasuke's shirt down the middle, a traditional Uchiha shirt with the clan fan imprinted on the back. Sasuke suddenly realized what was happening – his mindscape had metaphorically rationalized what was happening to him.

Orochimaru was taking his body.

But that had to mean… Sasuke's eyes searched his surroundings and there was no doubt they were in the Valley of the End. His mindscape has changed. It's been altered from the decrepit and haunting walls of the Uchiha compound. The meaning of it jolted his bones.

"Sasuke-kun, my sweet Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said as he shoved Sasuke's pants beyond his hips. "I can give you all the power you ever wanted, all the power to take Naruto for your own, all the power to kill those who despise and fear you, and all the power to protect what is yours."

Sasuke threw his head back with dark laughter. It echoed in the valley, bouncing off stone, and stilling Orochimaru with confusion. "I don't want your fucking power," Sasuke spat, offended that Orochimaru wasn't more imaginative. It was the same old thing and Sasuke wasn't falling for that trick again. "I have my own."

A sword hilt materialized in Sasuke's hand. Sasuke stabbed Kusanagi through Orochimaru's mouth and up through the head. Sasuke leaned forward and seethed as he twisted the blade. " _Die, and let me move on_."

Orochimaru smiled as if he wasn't bothered in the least. As if over the years, Orochimaru had come to consider that death had its own mysteries and secret that the self-proclaimed scholar was eager to unravel.

A small snake left Orochimaru's robes, almost too small to see. Sasuke snapped up his pants and chased after it. During their last confrontation, Sasuke hadn't completely killed Orochimaru and the Snake had hidden deep in the recesses of Sasuke's mind until Itachi had rooted him out. Sasuke wasn't going to make that same mistake.

The snake was crushed underneath a ninja boot. Sasuke stared at the last remains of Orochimaru and looked up to find Itachi rubbing the heel of his foot further in the ground with satisfaction. Itachi smiled. "Long time no see, Nii-san."

Sasuke asked almost fearfully. "Am I dead?"

Itachi poked two fingers against Sasuke's forehead, almost amused. "A healthy mind naturally forms defense mechanisms to protect itself," Itachi motioned to Kusanagi Sasuke was still holding. "Rationally, we're just a figment of your imagination. But irrationally..." Itachi opened his arms.

Sasuke didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around his older brother in a hug. Itachi even smelled how Sasuke remembered - like crushed grass, crisp clothes, and faded pages of text. Sasuke pulled back and looked around at the sight of his mindscape. The waterfall was majestic as it cascaded and roared over rocks, the water as clear as cool steal at midnight. There was a beauty in the valley's darkness, as beautiful as the last line of a poem or the broken hearts of a love story. It was a physical manifestation of what Naruto had once showed Sasuke through nature chakra. There was undeniable beauty in him, wrapped in grief and tragedy but shining through as sharp as a fire in the dark.

Sasuke Uchiha was worth fighting for.

Sasuke opened his eyes to bright blue ones. Naruto gave a visible sigh of relief. Sasuke immediately asked, "Orochimaru?"

Naruto gave him a dumb look and stepped back. He beckoned to a pile of ash on the floor. "I don't know what the fuck you did Sasuke but he burned up from the inside out. By the time I hiraishined in, he was already dead."

Sasuke stared at the ashes and realized the he had repelled Orochimaru's jutsu all by himself. Orochimaru had been vulnerable in more ways than one. In order to take Sasuke's soul, Orochimaru had to open himself up to Sasuke in return. It allowed Sasuke the opportunity to reach in and incinerate Orochimaru's soul by sheer force of will.

Now that Naruto assured himself Sasuke was okay, he turned and immediately radioed his ANBU stationed across the world to attack Orochimaru's seals. Once Naruto was finished he took a triumphant look around the room and moved to sit next to Sasuke on the bed. Sasuke quickly stopped him. He didn't want Naruto anywhere near this bed where he lost his virginity and even more parts of himself. He clutched Naruto by the arm and dragged him out of the room.

"I want to burn this entire hideout," Sasuke decided.

Naruto nodded and didn't ask questions. Naruto waited outside with Sakura where he explained to her what happened and watched the hideout go up in black flames. Orochimaru was finally defeated. More than once, Naruto wondered if the 'Will of Fire' Hashirama had first envisioned began with a Uchiha's flame.

When Sasuke was finished, Team Seven overlooked the fire eating and burning away at the past. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "This was too easy."

"Sometimes it is."

* * *

**Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life…**

* * *

**x**


	23. Happy Ending

Alright, Sasuke had to admit, Bear's Country plum pie was pretty damn good.

After dinner and the children were put to bed, they had hiraishined over to Bear Country. It's small ninja village, Hoshigakure, was known to the world for only two notable features: the canyon surrounding the country with poisonous gas and the meteorite crash site that attracted scientists from all over the world. It was a village whose aspirations looked more towards the stars than it did to its neighboring villages.

Many of the buildings were built from the meteoric rock and from a distance lit the entire village like a meteor shower glistening across a black sky. Sasuke and Naruto were sitting at a family-owned stand where Naruto was apparently recognized as a frequent customer. But even though they were deep in the middle of a foreign ninja village, most of the civilians on the streets glanced at Naruto without anyone recognizing him as the Hokage.

Which was probably a good thing because Naruto managed to smear most of the plum jelly all over his face.

"How do you know it's as good as you claim if you keep missing your mouth."

"It's a bit messy." Naruto conceded. He looked down and considered wiping his fingers on his shirt. Sasuke leaned over and grabbed a napkin from over the counter and then smashed it into Naruto's face.

"Hey," Naruto flailed his arms wildly and barely caught himself before he fell. Naruto straightened on the stool, cleaned his face, and tossed the napkin in Sasuke's direction. With envied grace, Sasuke leaned over and the crumpled napkin missed him by a hair. Naruto huffed, turned toward his empty plate and shouted in alarm. "Hey, something stole by pie."

Naruto immediately looked to the trees for an owl until he heard Sasuke smacking rather loudly behind him. Naruto kicked Sasuke without any force and mocked, "Mr. I-don't-like-sweets." Then Naruto grinned rather smugly. "It's delicious isn't?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It's okay."

"Mr. I-know-don't-how-to-give-a-compliment." Naruto turned back toward the stall and ordered several more pies. The young woman gave an amused smile before beginning their order. Several ornaments hung from the top of the stand, including pieces of the meteorite fashioned into several charms, beaded jewelry, and a hiraishin kunai. The young vendor probably had no idea what the kunai really was.

Sasuke looked around at the quiet ninja village. The village was so small that everyone was mostly related to each other. "How do you even find places like this?"

"I talk to people," Naruto said obviously. "A Goze from Sky Country told me about this place. A Lord of Valley Country told me about the Goze who could play every musical instrument. A chef from the Land of Noodles told me about the Lord's orchid of exotic fruits. And the Land of Noodles? Honestly Sasuke, that last one is pretty self-explanatory. Other times I just explore. That's how I found the black sand beach in Earth Country."

Sasuke took a moment to consider Naruto. "Honestly, I'm not surprised that you would be the Kage that can't seem to stay in his own village. I never noticed before but looking back when we were genin, it always seemed as if you were more comfortable on the road than at home."

Naruto closed his eyes and for a moment they soaked in the smell of fried batter and plum. "Yeah, I guess you're right. When we were little I was either the Nine-tailed Jinchuuriki or the hard-headed punk but on the road people could only judge me by my actions. It's the same now I guess. In Konoha I'm the Hokage but on the road without the cloak or the big hat I'm not my reputation but just another guy ordering plum pie." Naruto gave a soft smile. "Sometimes I miss the adventure, the new places, and interesting people. Yeah, I don't know how the fuck I ever expected myself to sit down at a desk all day. But then again, back then, I never really comprehended what a Kage was. I just wanted the respect of it all."

"I think one of the reasons you're a good Kage is because you don't sit at your desk all day."

"Ah, Sasuke, that's real nice of you to say."

"I didn't mean it. I was just showing you I know how to make a compliment."

"Teme."

The young vendor woman laughed at their banter as she placed a tower full of plum pie before Naruto. It was past closing time but the vendor was willing to work late for a loyal customer and the pair has been such an endless source of entertainment since they've arrived. She watched over her shoulder at the blonde who often dropped an order of hundreds of plum pie whenever he came through Hoshigakure, (Perhaps to bring to an entire clan, the vendor could only reason) talk, trade barbs, and laugh with a date who watched the blonde's face like an appreciator of art.

When they were finished, the blonde sat a wad of cash onto the counter to pay for the meal and a tip for closing late. The vendor reached for his hand with a smile and suggested, "If you take the path to the left, it's a hike, but there is a great view of the country."

The blonde grinned. "Thanks."

Naruto was too stuffed to go to sleep just yet and a hike was exactly what he needed to walk off all of the pie. "You know, for a place called Bear Country, I've never seen any Bears."

"To be fair, we live in a place called Fire Country."

"Yeah, but that's because most of our citizens are predisposition to use fire as their chakra release because of their Uchiha ancestry. And the entire forest turns red in fall. I can see where it comes from. But Bears? What bears?"

"Perhaps we should start a Bear preservation society." Sasuke's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Naruto stopped at the edge of the cliff that overlooked Hoshigakure. The village was located at the center of the land island surrounded by poisonous gas. The land mass was roughly shaped into a bear. You didn't understand the name of the country unless you saw it from the view of the stars. " _Oh_ , well, okay, yeah, that makes sense."

"Dobe."

Naruto raised his hands and stretched before sitting down on the edge to rest his burning calves. The vendor was right. It was a hike. Sasuke followed suit. It was a nice view of the small country. From this distance, the gaseous canyon had a beauty to it, like the gaseous ring around a glittering planet.

Sasuke noticed that the grass was worn down as if people came up here all the time. He gave a baleful glare at a used condom deposited in the grass beside him because of course, Naruto would accidently lead them to a lover's spot.

"I've been thinking about how I should announce that Orochimaru is dead," Naruto began. Sasuke frowned, startled. He didn't want to think about Orochimaru. The man was just hours dead. Sasuke just wanted to live in this Naruto bubble and never breathe again. But unlike Sasuke, who wallowed in the past Naruto was already moving forward. Sometimes It was hard for Sasuke to keep up. "Maybe we should throw a party-wide celebration throughout Konoha?"

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. He glanced down at his hands and said softly, barely above a whisper. "A funeral."

"You're joking right?"

Sasuke found his face parting in conflicting emotions. The reality of Orochimaru's death was still slowly sinking into his skin. He didn't understand why he didn't feel happy about it or as joyous as Naruto. Instead he felt… sadness?

"Orochimaru, he... is a controversial figure. But he was one of the Sannin, he created an abundance of jutsu over the years, and contributed to all sorts of scientific studies. He did help during the Fourth Shinobi War despite doing it for his own reasons and his search for knowledge was sincere. I don't know if all his wrongs completely erases the good parts of him."

Naruto said carefully, "I didn't think there were good parts of him."

Sasuke shrugged. "You didn't know him."

Naruto suddenly realized that Sasuke was grieving. Sasuke was grieving for a man who had abused and sought to control him and yet he was asking for a funeral, for closure, and respect enough not to completely vilify his mentor. Naruto was accustomed to looking for the best in people but he had to admit he lacked empathy when it came to Orochimaru. Probably because he just simply never understood the guy.

"Okay," Naruto agreed. "I'll make it happen."

"Thank you," Sasuke said.

Naruto bit his lip. "I know you really haven't had enough time to think about what you want to do next but I think that you've served your time in ANBU long enough. We should reveal you to Konoha and petition forgiveness from the council. The only catch is Iwa. I've talked with Kurotsuchi and I've come to an agreement with her. Iwa will hide your involvement with Oonoki's assassination if you agree to a life as a civilian. I know it's not ideal, and we can probably still work out something within ANBU, but I think you should consider it."

Sasuke frowned full of anger. "What the fuck did you promise Iwa for that deal?"

"I-" Naruto crossed his arms, defensively, unable to comprehend why Sasuke was so angry. "It's not your problem. I'm confused. I thought this could be a good thing?"

"There was no reason to put yourself at risk for me and some stupid deal. Konoha will never forgive me."

"Yes, they can. I never meant for you to stay in ANBU forever. There was always a way out in place. I was always hoping that you'll eventually earn it."

"Naruto, I don't deserve redemption. I don't deserve to be forgiven. Actions have consequences and I deserve to pay mine for the rest of my life."

Naruto frowned. "No Sasuke. No one deserves to live as a shadow forever. You deserve to be able to walk the streets without a henge. You could wear the Uchiha symbol again. Your name will no longer be taboo. You can walk freely in and out the gates of Konoha. You could do anything you want to do. Don't you want that?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth as if he could bite down hard enough to reign in his anger. "I want to go home."

"What? Are you sure? But Sasuke-"

"I said no, Naruto."

"Okay. I didn't mean to pressure you. Just… think about it."

They hiraishined back to the compound. Bear Country had been warm but they came back to the harsh cold of Konoha's deep winter. The snow had left a white blanket over the compound. The cold exacerbated the tension between them.

"Wait," Naruto couldn't let the day end like this. They've destroyed Orochimaru. It was supposed to be a moment of triumph. "Sasuke, hold on. Before you go home, there's something I want to give you."

Sasuke raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He wanted this day to hurry and come to an end. It's been long enough already. He doubted he'd get any sleep tonight but just for a while, he wanted to be alone but Naruto's hopeful gaze pulled Sasuke into the doorway. Sasuke crossed his arms as Naruto raced upstairs and then returned with boyish nervousness. He brought back a plain black box.

"It's not my birthday."

"Just open it Teme."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed the gift. He opened the box and stared at the item in his hand. It was a Leaf hitai-ite. A single line marred the center of the metal.

"It's umm, it's your old one."

Sasuke had no idea Naruto had kept it after all this time. Just staring at it brought back memories of guilt, shame, and a thirst for power. He remembered standing over Naruto when the hitai-ite had fallen. It had been raining.

"Honestly, I don't know why I held onto to it for all these years. At first it wanted to give it back to you when you returned to Konoha and then after a while it became a reminder of why I hated you. But I don't hate you anymore and the hurts don't hurt as much as they used to. At first I considered scuffing the metal out and making it brand new but that would erase how we got here. You might not be able to wear it but there's no reason for me to hold on to it any longer." Naruto's smile was a soft crest of sun over the horizon. "I forgive you."

Sasuke frowned. He had once begged Naruto for those three words. This all seemed too simple and too easy. Sasuke shook his head and stepped away from the offending box. "No."

"No?" Naruto asked in shock.

Sasuke turned on his heels and slammed the front door behind him. Of course, Naruto ran after him. "Just no? I don't get an explanation? I'm really sorry if the hitai-ite was inappropriate. I'll burn it if you want. You never have to see it again."

"No!" Sasuke snapped around.

"Yes, I heard you the first time," Naruto snapped flatly.

Sasuke tried to keep his inexplicable anger from boiling over. "You were right, Naruto. You were right all along. You deserve to be angry at me. I want you to continue to be angry with me. I don't deserve your forgiveness after everything I have done."

"You don't get to decide that Sasuke. You don't get to decide my anger or my forgiveness. And guess what?!" Naruto threw his hands up, "I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you. There," Naruto taunted like a three-year-old on the playground. "Orochimaru is dead. It's about time we moved on."

"There is no moving on!" Sasuke snapped and in horror he was beginning to realize what Orochimaru's death really meant. "Orochimaru is dead but nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed."

"I haven't." Sasuke scowled before he hunched his shoulders and walked home. Orochimaru was dead, but it felt as if Sasuke still lost in the end.

* * *

Hinata twisted her bra around and pulled her arms through the hoops. "Naruto, Orochimaru just died a few hours ago. Give him some time to process."

Naruto begrudgingly pulled on his ninja boots. He glanced over his shoulder as Hinata pulled on her shirt. This is not how he imagined this night to go – with Sasuke mad at him and Hinata... _again_. It was one of many of his bad decisions tonight.

But more than the sex Naruto wanted someone to talk to. Hinata had been his closest confidant. It was a habit hard to shake. Naruto mussed a hand through his hair. "Do you think it could work, I mean, Sasuke and I?"

"He makes you happier than I ever could."

"That's not true. What we had was different," Naruto argued even as he secretly admitted that yeah, it was mostly bittersweet. Naruto was seriously beginning to consider that something completely different from Hinata is exactly what he needed. Even it was a guy. Ha, Hinata turned him gay, Naruto thought moronically. Naruto reached for his pants on the floor of the love motel.

"Naruto, there's something we need to talk about. It's why I was seeking you out in the first place," Hinata said as she stood up from the bed and watched Naruto dress with patient pale eyes. "I'm pregnant."

Naruto's hands froze on the band of his pants. He looked up at Hinata in shock. "What?"

"It's Neji's."

"Oh. But I thought you two weren't…?"

"When we married, I promised him a child. It was part of our deal and I'm finally ready to give him that. We decided on artificial insemination so no Naruto we haven't had sex but the child is my commitment to my marriage. With that said, we've discussed the nature of our marriage and have agreed that either of us can take outside lovers if we so choose. We can still do this Naruto."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Then why are we still doing this?"

"Because..." Naruto sputtered. " _Because_. I'm still in love with you and that's never going to change Hinata but I'm not going to live in your web of Hyuuga bullshit anymore. I hope you and Neji have a happy life and I want more weekends with my daughter."

"Okay," Hinata said after a moment and then whispered. "I want more weekends with my son."

"Fair." Naruto blew out a deep breath. "Yeah, we'll figure something out with the kids. Maybe if this peace can last, we can tell Boruto?" After the Kyuubi, Tsunade and the council now knew of Boruto's heritage and he desperately hoped the information doesn't get out to his enemies.

Hinata thought it over. The decision to hide Boruto's parentage was because of his safety and they both took it very seriously. Hinata reached and squeezed Naruto's arm. "If the peace lasts."

* * *

Now that he didn't have the sharingan anymore, Tomu realized how much he used them for small everyday things. For the first time, Tomu considered that maybe Sasuke's criticisms about Tomu's cavalier way of using the sharingan might have been valid.

Tomu sighed after checking his teeth for the hundredth time and finally dropped his toothbrush in the holster. They didn't feel as clean without the sharingan. Even though he's complained about the kekkai genkai endlessly, Tomu actually missed them. It was like cutting an ear off. His senses were thrown off balance without them. It literally was like learning to how live with a missing limb.

Tomu looked up and jumped startled to find Naruto staring at him in the mirror. See, that wouldn't happen without the sharingan. Naruto raised a knowing eyebrow. "The kids have complained you've been in the bathroom for four hours."

Tomu breathed out in exasperation and dropped his forehead against the mirror. "I miss the sharingan," Tomu mumbled miserably. "If Hohei ever lost the byakugan, he would probably kill himself. I'm not supposed to be one of those ninja who values their doujutsu over their own life."

Naruto clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to miss it Tomu. As fucked up as it sounds, I miss the Kyuubi when he's locked away." Naruto rolled his eyes and muttered as if someone else was in the room. "It certainly isn't your winning personality that I adore."

Tomu knew that every once in a while over the years, Naruto would stop and talk to himself and completely forget that the Kyuubi could no longer hear him.

"I need you to do a favor for me? Can you check up on Sasuke today?" Naruto asked.

Tomu turned and raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen last night?"

Naruto dragged a hand through his hair. "We got into an argument but that's not exactly anything new. I just... I don't know where his head is at right now and I think I might have pushed too far last night. Can you just... make sure he is okay?"

"Yeah, no problem. You know, I should get paid for all the mediating I do between the two of you. It's a full-time job."

Naruto chuckled. "I know and I appreciate everything. I won't be in the compound today. I have to go into the office to plan a funeral."

Tomu stopped abruptly. "Who died?"

"Orochimaru."

Tomu processed that thought and then turned to Naruto with a rare streak of cruelness in his eyes. Naruto didn't see this side of Tomu very often but it reflected as cold and sharp as the darkest of Uchiha. "You mind if I oversee the cremation, _personally_?"

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Tomu paused on the way to Sasuke's place when he thought he heard something crash. When the sound continued, Tomu raced toward the house, swung the door open and stared dumbly at Sasuke completely destroying the forge. Tomu debated whether or not he should go get Naruto but thought better of it considering the current tension between them. He decided to at least try first. Maybe Sasuke saw a bug?

"Cockroach?" Tomu chuckled awkwardly.

Sasuke looked at Tomu and was exhausted enough to collapse among the debris he had created. Sasuke looked at it all with a deep glower as if he was offended by the way it had crashed to the ground.

Sasuke had woke up this morning with what felt like knives pricking at his skin. Sasuke didn't know what he expected the morning after Orochimaru died... maybe to feel better. _But nothing had changed_. The nightmares still came. The revenge had been empty. He got angry at himself because it had to be his fault that Orochimaru's death meant this terrible ache inside. He was supposed to be triumphant and victorious. But he had been none of this things. He's failed in some way he couldn't really comprehend.

"Is this about the argument you and Naruto had last night?" Tomu asked uncertainly.

Sasuke squeezed his eye shut. It was about Orochimaru. It was about Naruto. It was about Sasuke. It was too much for Sasuke to put into words and he had found his best effort at communicating within the broken pieces of the forge. The battered metal and broken pieces were strewn across the ground like a chaotic language no one in the world but Sasuke understood. And it was frustrating.

Sasuke simply curled into himself and tucked himself into his knees. The only thing that staved off the impending panic attack was the warmth of a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke leaned against Tomu and did everything he could to keep the pieces of himself from falling apart.

* * *

Doctor Yamanaka unlocked the door to his office and found Sasuke Uchiha sitting on his couch early that morning. "You're not scheduled for another two days," the Doctor said politely, careful with the tone of his words. Sasuke Uchiha looked as wild and volatile as that first day in his office.

"Your first appointment isn't going to be able to make it," Sasuke said darkly. He didn't kill the guy but the poor chuunin might never come out of his house again.

"I come into the office at this time but I don't usually start my appointments for another hour." Sasuke motioned to the Doctor to continue as normal. Sasuke simply curled further into the couch as if it brought him some measure of comfort and watched Konoha wake up from the window.

Dr. Yamanaka organized his files and went through his notes for the appointments scheduled for the day. His receptionist entered with a cup of coffee. "Doctor, your first appointment cancelled."

"That's alright. Apparently I've already filled the position. But be sure to send him a message for reappointment." The receptionist bowed and left the room. Doctor Yamanaka watched Sasuke over the rim of his coffee mug. Dr. Yamanaka usually allowed his patients to set-up an earlier appointment if they needed it and typically did not allow one patient to cut into another's patient's time.

"Sasuke," Dr. Yamanaka said carefully. A lot of his job was based on observation and he didn't miss the change of color in Sasuke's eyes: From light brown to a coal black "If you cut into another's patient's time again we're going to have to end this and you are going to have to find another therapist. I'll overlook it for now since this is the first incident."

And Sasuke turned to the doctor with a raised eyebrow as if to say, 'How would you stop me?'

Dr. Yamanaka refused to be cowed. "I am serious Sasuke. It is not fair to my other patients who also need my help." Dr. Yamanaka watched as Sasuke Uchiha withdrew his defenses and sat vulnerable on his couch.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke mumbled. "I won't do it again."

Dr. Yamanaka nodded in appreciation. "Now, what's wrong?"

"I killed Orochimaru yesterday. The Hokage hasn't officially announced it yet." The Doctor nodded. "He's dead. But I could barely sleep last night. I'm still having nightmares. It's supposed to be over." Sasuke hunched his shoulders. "A few months ago you had warned me. You had told me even if I killed the snake, I'd still be poisoned." Sasuke clenched his eyes shut and whispered softly, "I feel sick. I'm supposed to be better."

"You aren't _supposed_ to be anything. There is nothing wrong with the way you are feeling right now. Orochimaru's death is simply another step forward but it's still a long road. And you are making progress. What would you have done the first month you came to me and I reprimanded you about your appointments?"

"Probably would have killed you," Sasuke mumbled.

"You have better control over your anger. Your life is no longer filled with vengeance. You no longer lash out at people at the slightest offense. That's what you wanted isn't it? The what's you asked for the first day you came into my office."

Sasuke nodded slowly.

"Sasuke, you are the only person who can determined whether or not this story had a tragic or happy ending." Sasuke scoffed. Life wasn't the happy endings in a fairytale. Doctor Yamanaka leaned forward as if telling Sasuke a secret only few knew. "Happy endings are only for people who allow themselves to be happy."

"I don't deserve to be happy," Sasuke muttered.

"Then what is all this for? What's the point of healing? To suffer forever? To repent forever?"

"You sound like Naruto," Sasuke grumbled.

"How so?"

Sasuke grunted and tucked himself into the chair. "Naruto wants me to go public. He thinks that Konoha can forgive my sins. But I don't deserve Konoha's forgiveness much less Naruto's."

Dr. Yamanaka explained gently, "None of it matters if you can't forgive yourself. A happy ending is a choice."

* * *

Sasuke startled himself every time he passed a mirror to see coal black eyes staring back at him with the sharingan hidden in their depths. He had offered to give them back to Tomu but as long as Naruto has yet to reinforce the seal that kept the Kyuubi at bay, they still might be needed. Until then, the sharingan will continue to stare back at him like some haunting ghost that had overstayed its visit.

Sasuke pulled his clothes out the dresser drawer and the sudden movement caused the scroll on top to roll to the floor. Sasuke stared at it. He hadn't placed it there. He remembered promising Naruto that he would sign the thing once Orochimaru was defeated. But Sasuke didn't see the point. Sasuke picked up the summoning scroll and tucked it deep into his underwear drawer.

An incessant knocking tapped against the window. Tomu came through and Sasuke immediately knew something was wrong. If it wasn't important Tomu always preferred to use the front door. Tomu's expression was blank and dumbfounded. His voice was hoarse. "Sasuke, we need you at the hospital." Tomu immediately followed with, "No one is hurt."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the odd request. "Sakura isn't trying to trick me into a doctor's appointment?"

"No. It's not a doctor's appointment. It's not a mission. Some of the teams Naruto sent out to take care of Orochimaru's seals have started to return to Konoha. Naruto needed me to come get you."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't like walking into the unknown. He reached for his sword.

"You don't need your sword either."

Sasuke grabbed it anyways. Tomu heaved a sigh and then they hiriashined to the hospital. Tomu led Sasuke down a twist of hallways and through the secret doors Sasuke recognized as S-class restricted. Naruto was looking through a window into a hospital room. When they came down the corridor, Naruto immediately grabbed Sasuke and dragged him off to an isolated corner of the hall. Naruto began with, "Don't freak out, okay?"

"What is it?" Sasuke snapped.

"The ANBU teams I sent out after the seals are finally beginning to arrive back in Konoha. Most of the people carrying Orochimaru's seals were destroyed except those that the teams deemed it important for me to see in person." Naruto took a deep breath. "Sasuke, there's a young girl in there. According to the documentation found within Orochimaru's lair there is a high possibility she might be your daughter."

Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he was speaking another language. This had to be a prank right? Sasuke whipped around and stopped in front of the hospital window to find Sakura giving a sullen young girl a basic health examination. Orochimaru's seal was on her neck. The young girl had to be about Boruto's age from what Sasuke could judge. She had black hair and coal black eyes that sharply looked around the room with an eerie expression that reminded Sasuke of Itachi.

Tomu was looking at him in concern. Naruto said carefully. "We should do a DNA test to be sure."

"No, this is some sort of trick by Orochimaru. It's not possible."

"The records in that base were rather detailed. According to the documents the mother is half-Uchiha, a bastard that had been unknowingly left out in Snow Country. I don't know how Orochimaru found out about the mother's heritage but it seems Orochimaru engineered your encounter. You were in _Cloud Country_ at the time." Naruto didn't mention the brothel out loud because Tomu didn't know about it and Sasuke didn't want him to. It was one of his low points.

"According to the notes he was trying to breed another sharingan. You were plan A. Tomu was Plan B. And apparently, the child was Plan C. Thus far everything we've found matches up but we should do a DNA test to be absolutely sure."

"Stop." Sasuke was having trouble breathing.

The door opened to the room. Sakura took off her medical gloves and frowned. She glanced over at Sasuke and then back to Naruto to report, "She's healthy but," Sakura bit her lip. "Orochimaru might have been experimenting on her eyes. She's going to need glasses."

That sent Sasuke completely over the edge. He had a daughter that Orochimaru had been experimenting on for the past four years. With the Mangekyou, the chemistry in his brain was wired and all his emotions were heightened to the point Sasuke was going to explode. Orochimaru was already dead. There was no one to lash out at.

"Naruto, I need to get out of here."

Naruto turned to him in alarm and without any hesitation, hiraishined Sasuke far away to a plain bare field where Sasuke's chakra left him in a fit of rage and despair. Naruto had to quickly exit the blast radius before he got caught in it.

Sasuke leveled mountains. He turned entire forests to ash. The world trembled.

When it was over Naruto found Sasuke at the bottom of a crater, clothes burnt off, and Mangekyou staring into the void crying blood.

Naruto approached carefully and could feel with sage mode that most of Sasuke's chakra had been depleted. Naruto crouched down and was surprised when Sasuke desperately latched his arms around Naruto's waist and hid his face into his stomach.

"I'll never be rid of him," Sasuke said, numbed. "Orochimaru will never stop haunting me."

* * *

Sasuke was numb as he waited in Sakura's office for the results of the DNA test. The only reason Sasuke was here was because Naruto dragged him here. Sasuke didn't really care about the results of the test. It wouldn't change the fact that Sasuke Uchiha didn't want anything to do with it.

Naruto kept glancing over at him in concern. Naruto had once attempted their usual banter to cheer Sasuke up but Sasuke didn't want to feel better. He wanted to remain miserable.

Finally Sakura entered the office to put Sasuke out of his misery. The sooner the results were announced, the sooner Sasuke could leave. Sakura sat down at her desk filled with medical journals and reports.

"Sasuke is the father," Sakura confirmed.

"Okay," Naruto said already with a plan of action. "If Sasuke goes public then he can rightfully claim her. He has every right to-"

"Right to what?! Fuck up her life? Label her with the curse of being Sasuke Uchiha's daughter? Just take the girl, Naruto," Sasuke snapped.

"Her name is Sarada," Naruto whispered, as if somehow that could sway Sasuke's decision. "I'll take her if that is what you want but are you sure? She's your daughter. How can you possibly give that up?"

"Easily," Sasuke said scathingly. Having a child wasn't his choice. It was yet another thing that Orochimaru had taken away from him.

"I know this sucks, Sasuke. It's not fair to you. But that little girl is here now and we need to do what's best for her. We'd help you. You wouldn't be alone. You handle the kids around the compound well enough. You'll be fine."

"You seriously can't think I'm what's best for her?" Sasuke argued. "I can hardly take care of my fucking self."

Sakura glanced over at Naruto. "He has a point. I mean, Sasuke claiming her might be what's right but not exactly what's better. And no offense Sasuke, but you don't come off as the most stable father figure."

Naruto clasped his hands with a frown. As the proprietor of an orphanage he understood a variety of reasons why parents abandoned a child. He understood why he had been abandoned but that didn't stop his emotions from getting twisted up in this. He felt certain that after a few years, Sasuke would come to regret this decision.

"I can't look at her and not see Orochimaru. I'll only end up hurting her. Then I'll be no better than him." Sasuke stood up. "I'm done."

"Wait," Tomu said softly. "I want to adopt her."

Everyone stopped and turned toward the young man. Tomu gulped. "Mushi and I were going to have a daughter and I think this is what they both would have wanted. I'm already family. I can help Sarada when she activates her sharingan. And I... I want to be her father," Tomu looked up at Sasuke. "If you'll let me. She'll still be a Uzumaki-Uchiha. It's not a stretch to tell everyone I knocked someone up four years ago. Sarada looks enough like me. She'll know me as Father but you'll always be her Uncle and you'll always be in her life... if you wish."

Sasuke grunted darkly. "Do whatever you want."

* * *

Sasuke couldn't go back to the compound. The walls were crushing him and there were too many kids to remind him of the one he had abandoned to Orochimaru. Nor did he feel like confronting Naruto's disappointment. He didn't feel like being judged by anyone. So he packed up his things, left the compound, and cracked open the door to the apartment Tomu once shared with Mushi.

It didn't take long for Naruto to come knocking. Sasuke cracked open the door and bodily covered the space to prevent Naruto from coming in, which only made Naruto more confused and angry. "What the fuck Sasuke? Are you moving out?"

"I'm not leaving Konoha. I just want to be alone right now."

Naruto opened his mouth and before he said anything else, Sasuke slammed the door shut in his face. Through the wood, Sasuke heard Naruto knock weakly even though Naruto could slam down the door if he wanted.

"All right, fine," Naruto said. "I know things aren't easy for you right now. It's a lot to take in. But don't isolate yourself. I'm always here for you Sasuke."

Naruto eventually left when no answer came.

* * *

Sasuke spent most of his days reading and getting lost in complicated chakra theories. Sometimes he went to the ANBU underground to train until he was physically exhausted. Sasuke recognized it was the same thing he did with his clan had died – he isolated himself in the compound and lost himself in books and training. Except this time, he didn't know who he was grieving for – perhaps Orochimaru, or the child he never knew about, or for himself.

Sakura came by at least once a day (but only because Sakura always slammed her way through the door.) Tomu dropped by with groceries. Tomu didn't say much, just checked in to see if he was alive. But Naruto stayed away and tried to respect his space.

There was a sudden chain of knocks that mimicked the beat from one of Killer Bee's song. Sasuke didn't even look up to know that it was Tomu coming through the front door. The expectant thump of a grocery bag atop the counter never came. Instead, Tomu forcefully pulled the book down to reveal Sasuke's annoyed glare.

"Orochimaru's funeral is in a few hours."

"I don't want to go."

"But I thought you… Naruto said…"

"I never said I wanted to go," Sasuke said as he forcefully shoved the book back in front of his face.

Tomu plopped down across from Sasuke and was close to being fed up with Sasuke's all-consuming angst. "Sarada is doing great by the way. She was shy for the first few days but Boruto came through and swept her up like a tornado. I dusted off the old construction plans of the house I was going to build with Mushi and have started construction by the river. Thus far, Sarada's favorite foods are onigiri, tomatoes, and ice cream. She likes to read and-"

"Shut up," Sasuke finally snapped.

"Come to the funeral. We can watch it from a distance but I think you need this."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He hasn't left this apartment in weeks. But Sasuke did think a knot in his chest would be settled if he saw Orochimaru's ashes - to have another visual reminder that the guy was dead. Sasuke finally gave a defeated nod.

There were very few at the funeral. Most people had come just for the novelty of it. The framed picture used for the funeral was a portrait of Orochimaru before he left Konoha. Sasuke hated the picture. A picture wasn't enough to capture all the different sides of a complicated man.

Sasuke wondered if Naruto, as the Hokage, would be the one to say words over the ceremony but instead, Tsunade stepped forward.

Tsunade looked down at the picture frame for several long moments and declared, "I won. I've lived longer than you. But it's an empty victory because you've cursed me to be the one to watch all of you die. In your death I'm going to give you what you were too scared to ask for, what you probably still don't deserve, but what I need." Tsunade pressed a lilac into the coffin. "I forgive you."

Out of respect for the dead, the others in attendance followed with flowers. The Hokage dropped a flower into the coffin followed by a pale young boy he guided by the hand. Toward the end of the funeral ceremony, after the priest had read the sutra and it was normally time for the body to be moved for cremation, the Hokage signaled to his ANBU. The bystanders were cleared away until there was no one left in the graveyard.

Without permission, Tomu grabbed a hold of Sasuke's sleeve and hiraishined them down toward the casket. Sasuke didn't know how he would react to facing Orochimaru's body but he didn't have time to run as Tomu forced him to confront it. Sasuke knew he would regret not taking the opportunity to make sure that Orochimaru was dead.

Tomu frowned. "He isn't decomposing." The body was still as fresh as the day Sasuke had stabbed him. It was unsettling, but little of Orochimaru surprised Sasuke anymore – except perhaps, the fact he was still dead.

"Why did they leave?" Sasuke asked.

"To give us a moment of privacy. I asked Naruto if I could oversee the cremation."

Sasuke eyes darkened in understanding. "There's more Uchiha in you than you think."

"Don't remind me." Tomu looked down and stared at Orochimaru with hard eyes. A ring of dark flowers circled the body. "I didn't get a chance to do this for Mushi because her body was unrecoverable but I am more than willing to help you pass on to the next life. I hope your afterlife is a miserable one. Asshole, pedophile, bastard, son of a-" Sasuke stopped Tomu's tirade with a firm hand on Tomu's shoulder. Tomu raised both hands in acquiesce and pulled back.

Sasuke wasn't planning on saying anything but he could see how Tomu's anger was pointless now that Orochimaru was dead. His own anger was pointless. It was keeping him from letting go and moving on.

"I hope the afterlife is filled with mysteries so infinite and intriguing you'll never have a reason to return. May you discover a knowledge so profound that your selfishness and pride one day becomes meaningless and you realize that there is value in other people lives. I hope you're reunited with your parents and they show you a love so great you'll never have a reason to return. Perhaps you'll do the impossible and put scientific equations to love. I hope you reunite with Jiraiya because I know you kept a signed copy of his book in your nightstand and you grieved when he died so much so that he was the one person you couldn't resurrect during the Fourth Shinobi War. I hope you reunite with Tsunade after she has lived a fuller life than yours. Because sometimes you can't win everything and that is a lesson too. Friendship is a treasured thing. I hope you find it and never have a reason to return." Then Sasuke leaned in and said more intimately. "And when we one day meet again, preferably on the other side, I hope to be a better man than you. I am sure you didn't accomplish everything you set out to do in this realm but it's okay for there are an infinite number of possibilities that await you. May the afterlife be good to you so that you may never have a reason to return. Move on, Orochimaru-sama. It is a thing we all must do."

Sasuke finished and for the first time in a long while felt as if he was breathing in something other than ash and the scorched memory of it on his tongue. He knew what he needed to do next and they were the hardest words he's ever had to say in his life. But he was stronger now and he was no longer that lost vengeful child. Sasuke spat, like spitting that last vestiges of poison into the coffin, "I forgive you."

Then Sasuke turned to Tomu and said, "Let's burn this asshole."

"Yes."

Both men stepped back and invoked the jutsu the Uchiha Clan were known for. "Great Fireball Jutsu."

Orochimaru's body burned.

Normally after cremation, the family of the deceased would use chopsticks to carefully pick up the bones from feet to hyoid and carefully placed them into an urn. But Sasuke and Tomu's only made their fire hotter, Sasuke turned his black, until there was nothing left of Orochimaru to come back to.

In that moment Sasuke was done with the fear and the constant worrying that Orochimaru might return. He didn't care anymore. It didn't matter if Orochimaru returned or not because Sasuke was done. _He was done._ He was done grieving. He was done wallowing. He was done pushing everyone out. He was done with Orochimaru.

Sasuke Uchiha was done.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke moved back to the Uzumaki compound.

* * *

In Naruto's waking moments, he often drifted into sage mode and allowed the ley lines of chakra to rock him awake. But there was something noticeably different in the air, something warm and vibrant that made Naruto hum as the warmth curled around his toes. Something in the world had righted itself and no one had ever known it was off-balance. Naruto slipped from the bed and floated down to the ground from his bedroom window.

Naruto followed the chakra, like a child following the smell of cooling pie. The closer he came to the source the more familiar the chakra became. Naruto leaned into the open door of the forge and didn't need to open his eyes to know Sasuke had come home.

Sasuke's chakra has changed. It didn't lash out as violently as it once did when anyone came near. It wasn't as guarded or clogged as it had been before, as if someone has finally dug in deep and cleaned out Sasuke's chakra nodes. Naruto could taste it like incense on his lips and could almost smell it curling like the fragrant smoke of cherry wood.

"Shit Sasuke, your chakra is intoxicating." Once Naruto realized the words that fell from his mouth, he snapped out of sage mode and snapped his eyes open to Sasuke's judgmental raised eyebrow. Naruto crossed his arms defensively and asked as he looked around the forge, "You're home?"

"Hn."

Sasuke was kneeling down on his knees dividing parts of the broken forge that he could re-use or scrap into two separate piles. Even though Sasuke was cleaning, he was wearing a shirt with billowing white sleeves and a plummeting neckline even thought it was still cold in the early spring morning. It was a shirt completely nonsensical but so utterly Sasuke that Naruto broke into a smile. The only thing it was missing was the Uchiha fan on the back. At least it was paired with a sensible pair of blue hakama pants. Sasuke's hair was swept back into a high ponytail that were popular among the samurai in Iron Country. The look fit him so well and for the first time, Naruto got the sense that Sasuke was finally comfortable in his age and skin.

There was a calm about Sasuke that hadn't been there before. Naruto didn't know if it was the funeral or just time but Naruto was relieved to see that Sasuke had finally found some measure of peace.

"You're going to keep standing there grinning like an idiot or are you going to help?"

"Oh yeah sure, tell me what you need?" Naruto asked. Sasuke pointed. Naruto immediately began pulling debris from the far corners of the room and bringing them over to Sasuke for investigation.

"I've considered your offer and I've decided to go public."

Naruto grinned. "That's great. There won't be another council meeting until next week but I should be able to get everything prepared by then. I'm confident Konoha will forgive you. You killed Orochimaru and saved my life and Konoha countless of times. This will be good for you."

Sasuke easily maintained the conversation as he sorted out the pieces. "There were times I considered that it might be easier going out in a blaze of glory – like sacrificing my life in exchange for yours or some shit like that. So many people are afraid of death but they've got all wrong. Death is easy. Life is hard." Sasuke looked up at Naruto with a dark smile. "I'm sorry for being an ass that night."

"Fortunately, I'm used to you being an ass."

Sasuke punched Naruto jokingly in the shoulder and Naruto laughed. To Sasuke, Naruto never looked more comfortable than with his hair wild and mussed from sleep, orange pajama bottoms with smiling sushi, and a laugh in his eyes. Sasuke said more sincerely, "Thank you – for holding on to my hitai-ite."

Naruto smiled cheekily. The scars stretch into smiles themselves "Anytime."

Together, they continued to clean out the forge so that Sasuke could begin to build anew. Sasuke couldn't help but notice Naruto's nervous glances and when Sasuke went outside to dump the scrap, of which he would melt down later for metal and reuse for repairs elsewhere in the compound, Sasuke whirled on Naruto with a decisive, "What?"

Naruto crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the house. "There's something I need to tell you but I'm trying to decide if it's the right time. I fear it might send you running from the compound again. Still, it's better coming from me than you figuring it out on your own."

Sasuke crossed his own arms in challenge. "Nothing can make me run from this place again." He saw the obvious hesitation in Naruto's eyes. "What? Do I have another kid?"

"Actually, Orochimaru has a kid."

Sasuke gave Naruto a flat look. Because of course Orochimaru fucking did. But he was done with Orochimaru. He couldn't care less what happen to- Sasuke suddenly understood everything of what Naruto trying to say. "Are you fucking kidding me? Don't tell it's here in the orphanage."

Naruto winced. "Well, yeah, Sasuke that's kind of what an orphanage is for."

"You could have thrown it on the side of the road. It's Orochimaru's spawn," Sasuke said distastefully. "It'd probably survive."

"He's only four years old!"

"What is it? A robot? Have you opened it up and looked inside?" Sasuke asked seriously.

"No, he's not a robot," Naruto snapped as if it was really an absurd idea in the realm of Orochimaru. "According to Sakura, he's a synthetic human made from Orochimaru's genes."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "An experiment."

" _No,_ a living breathing person."

"He's probably not even the only one."

"He's the only one we found."

"That thing could be the very reason Orochimaru is resurrected someday."

"I know that Sasuke. But I can't not..." Naruto took a deep breath. "I can't let you hurt him."

"I didn't say anything about hurting it," Because Sasuke has learned enough to know that this was one battle Naruto would fight tooth and nail for. One little synthetic child was not worth his relationship with Naruto. "I'm saying you're an idiot."

"Yeah, I think after the ten hundredth time it loses its effectiveness. Look, I'm taking precautions. I'm keeping a close eye on him. I've had Ino shuffling around in his head. He's clean."

"You do realize that the first time you almost died it was because of a child?"

Naruto froze and consciously rubbed at the burn at his shoulder. Naruto said softly. "I know."

Naruto looked up as Sasuke closed the gap between them and grabbed Naruto by the neck. Sasuke stared at Naruto intently and promised. "I'll be keeping an eye on him. It's the one that came to the funeral isn't it?"

Naruto nodded softly. "So you're okay?"

"No. But I'm done letting Orochimaru control my life. My anger and fear of Orochimaru is not worth our friendship. I'll keep an eye on the boy but the moment he does anything that endangers you or this clan I will rip his heart out. And don't stop me. That's the compromise." Sasuke tightened his grip around Naruto's neck. "Don't stop me. He can stay here under your protection but you move out the way if he makes the wrong choice."

Naruto lifted his chin in defiance and perhaps naively said, "He won't."

"The same goes for Sarada. We don't know what Orochimaru did to her. She could have been brainwashed for all we know. If I have to, don't stop me."

"But she's your daughter."

"I've killed my family before," Sasuke said without an ounce of remorse, voice steady, determined to get his point across. It was something that needed to be discussed. Sarada was a liability. Orochimaru's experiment was a liability. "I won't act without evidence. But I know if worst-case scenario happens, it's a task you will not be able to do." Sasuke knew for a fact that if any of these kids in this orphanage turned out to be a well-hidden assassin Naruto would rather die than raise his blade. "Promise me."

There were tears beginning to cloud Naruto's eyes. Sasuke could see the stubbornness and the fight battling the hardening blue. There were very few people in the world who could make the Hokage bend. Naruto said full of broken tears, "I promise, I won't stop you."

* * *

She looked like Sasuke's mother – or at least the picture of Mikoto when she was small. Sarada was setting the utensils around the dinner table and Sasuke watched as Sarada painstakingly straightened every chopstick and spoon until they were perfectly parallel. That one task spoke volumes.

It was Tomu who had a habit of being OCD as fuck to need everything on the table perfectly parallel. Tomu would unconsciously fix everything on a table he should have passed by. Tomu couldn't sit down to eat properly until everything was perfect. Sarada had noticed this quirk of Tomu's and the four-year old took the time and effort to make sure everything was how Tomu liked it. It reminded Sasuke of a younger version of himself who constantly cleaned the house and made sure there were no wrinkles in the bed sheets simply because that's how his mother liked things done. She was thoughtful of others in a way Sasuke had lost.

"Good job, Sarada," Tomu beamed as he placed the dinner plates onto the table. Sasuke stared down at the steam rising from the Udon. It was the first time Sasuke was joining Tomu in the cottage he had finished building on the river.

Thus far dinner was a silent affair. The steam of the bowl of Udon constantly fogged Sarada's red rimmed glasses until she took them off. Without them, she only looked more like Sasuke's mother.

Tomu began, "Hey Sarada, what did you do with the clan while I was at work?"

Sarada's coal eyes lit up like a spark of flint. "Uncle Naruto took us on a really big boat out on a lake. I've never been on a boat before. It was fun. I wish you could have come, dad."

Tomu had been surprised by how fast she picked up the word. The first time Sarada had called Tomu dad was after their first outing with the Uzumaki Clan. After Sarada had observed the Uzumaki Clan tossing the word around with Naruto she had immediately come home and said the word as if now she finally understanding what dad meant.

"I wish I could too but I had to go back to work eventually." The whole showdown with the Kyuubi had gone into everyone's files as S-class which had afforded them significant vacation time afterwards. Sasuke's ANBU vacation had been even further extended after Orochimaru's mission but even if it hadn't been, Sasuke doubted if he cared enough to report in. "Perhaps Uncle Sasuke could go with you sometimes."

Sasuke glared at Tomu. The suggestion was completely inappropriate considering this was the first time they've officially met.

"Don't let that glare fool you Sara-chan, he's a softie at heart."

Sarada peeked up shyly at Sasuke but when Sasuke caught her staring, she quickly looked back down at her plate of edamame. It was the last thing remaining on her plate.

"Eat your vegetables," Tomu pressed, "or all of us will have to sit here and wait until you are finished."

Sarada gave Tomu a baleful glare in a sudden mimic of Sasuke and it completely threw the eldest Uchiha off-guard. Despite her unwillingness, she popped the seeds of the edamame in her mouth with a face and swallowed quickly.

"Now it's time for ice-cream," Tomu said, proud of her and began clearing away the plates. Within minutes, Sarada was curled on the couch with a bowl of ice-cream and a book in her hand. She flipped the pages with sticky hands. Sasuke helped Tomu with the dishes because there was no way he wanted to be stuck alone with the child.

Tomu placed a comforting hand on Sasuke's arm. "Relax. You're doing good."

"I don't even know what to say."

"Doesn't matter. You have time to figure it out."

Sasuke grunted. "Thanks... for taking her. I just... I'm not ready for this."

"Hey, it's no problem, Sasuke. That's what family is for," Tomu said as he nudged his shoulder.

After they finished washing the dishes and Sarada had fallen asleep with an empty bowl of ice-cream in her lap, Tomu suggested, "Let me give you a tour of the place."

Tomu picked Sarada over his shoulder and carried her down the hallways. Sasuke froze when he entered Sarada's room. One of Sasuke's cat figurines sat as decoration on the dresser. The quilted covers were decorated with a combined pattern of the Uzumaki swirl and the Uchiha fan. The paintings on the wall, which Sasuke immediately recognized were Hohei's doing, were a series of painting of different tomoe the Uchiha have had over the years.

"It was all Naruto's idea." Tomu said as he tucked Sarada into her Uzumaki-Uchiha covers.

Even though the Uchiha name was all but extinct it still lived on. The Uchiha remained in their blood, as Fire Country's namesake, and Sasuke's memories. For the first time since the massacre, Sasuke began to believe that everything good of the Uchiha hadn't died that night.

"You okay with this?" Tomu asked.

Sasuke nodded slowly. "I still have some things stashed away I might be able to give her."

"Good, because we're not exactly certain the date of her birthday but we're going to celebrate it soon." Tomu leaned forward and gave Sarada a parting kiss on the forehead.

Tomu gave Sasuke a tour of the rest of the house. It was sturdy and had lots of room for Sarada to grow up.

"This is your room," Tomu said as he opened the door and revealed an empty room not yet decorated with furniture. "It's for you whenever you need it."

"You didn't have to."

"I did. I no longer have the money to keep paying rent on that apartment. I plan on breaking the lease after you move out. At least this room gives you another alternative than the compound. I understand the need to get away. I wasn't born a clan ninja and sometimes the chaos of the compound is too much for me as well. That's why I built on the river – it's on Uzumaki land, close enough to the compound, but still far enough for some privacy."

"Hn."

They reconvened back in the living room with a six-pack of beer. "So, are you ready for the trial? It's in a few days right?" Tomu asked as he popped open his can.

Sasuke shrugged. "Konoha's opinion never really mattered much to me but going public will allow me more room to maneuver."

"And get a job," Tomu added. "You need to start financially contributing to the clan. You can't freeload off of me anymore. To be frank, I need the money to raise my kid."

"Even if Konoha forgives me, according to the deal with Iwa I can only become a civilian."

"Sasuke," Tomu said sarcastically. "Civilians have jobs too."

"I'm sure Konoha will be eager to hire Sasuke Uchiha to bag groceries."

Tomu laughed at the thought and then suggested, "You get that forge running properly, you can go into business selling weapons."

"I'll think about it," Sasuke promised. He agreed with Tomu that he should start supporting the clan in a greater capacity especially now when there was no question that this was his home.

Tomu huffed as he leaned back and dragged a large gulp from his beer. "Naruto finally fixed his seal. So eventually we're going to have to talk about the eye situation. Are you going to give them back?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and dragged it on long enough to make Tomu feel uncomfortable. "Yes, I'm giving them back."

"Ass," Tomu spat when he realized Sasuke had been egging him on. "Thank Kami, I keep missing spots on the dishes and I have to go back and clean them three or four times."

"Just for that I've changed my mind."

"Hey!" Tomu smiled. "I really wish I had it when Sarada said dad for the first time. It would have been a nice moment to remember. Kami, Sasuke, you know, you made something really good."

Sasuke hardly believed it. After his second beer, he slapped his hands on the armrests. "I've got something." Sasuke pulled out the summoning scroll he had begun to carry around but hadn't found the right moment (or enough alcohol) to sign it yet.

"What is it?"

"It's a Uchiha summoning scroll. My mother was the last one to sign it and I promised Naruto I would do the same if we beat Orochimaru." Sasuke looked to Naruto. "Will you stay while I sign it?"

"Of course."

Tomu leaned over his shoulder as Sasuke snapped the scroll open and spread it across the table. Tomu leaned forward and pointed to one of the names. "That's your mother?

"Yes. Sarada reminds me of her."

"What about the other names? Did you know any of them?"

Sasuke scanned down the scroll. He pointed to the one before his mother. "This is my great-great grandmother. I never met her. She died before I was born." Then Sasuke went to the very first name. "This is Izuna Uchiha, Madara's younger brother."

"So this scroll has been in your family for a long time?"

"It's our oldest. The Crow is the second-oldest. That was Itachi's summoning scroll. There are a few more in the vault but they're not as strong as these.

Sasuke fingered the cursive script of his mother's name.

He could do this. He could face whatever judgment the summons had for him. Tomu tightened a hand on Sasuke's shoulder in encouragement. Sasuke signed his name in blood.

Nothing happened. Of course he knew nothing would happen unless he summoned one of them. Sasuke bit his finger and placed his hand down onto the table.

In a puff of smoke, a sleek black cat open dark red eyes. This must have been a mistake. Despite her size, Sasuke knew better. He shouldn't have been able to summon a S-class summon. He hadn't applied that much chakra.

"Sasu-kun, you've gotten so big," Luna, who had favored his mother, said as she stretched along the table.

"It's been a long time, Luna," Sasuke answered hoarsely. This cat has seen him in diapers.

"I'm Tomu," Tomu eagerly introduced himself, wide-eyed and amused by Sasuke's nickname.

Luna preened and introduced herself with regal grace. "I'm Luna, shadow cat of the realms of death, companion to the Uchiha Clan, and walker of crossroads." Luna leapt up onto Tomu's shoulder and studied him with a paw that swatted into his hair. "You're a weird Uchiha."

"I take that as a compliment."

"Like Obito."

"Maybe not," Tomu replied, less enthused. Sasuke watched the both of them with a disgruntled frown. Luna was as old as the elder frogs of Mount Myoboku and he did not know if he could face her disappointment. Sasuke jolted when her tail swatted at his nose. Luna dropped down onto her hind legs and studied Sasuke. A glare competition ensued. Sasuke's stubbornness broke first and he turned away and prepared himself for criticisms.

"Your mother would be so proud of you."

Sasuke felt so ashamed to contradict her. "No, she wouldn't."

"Sasuke, I've talk with her on the other side. We've seen everything you've been through, all your mistakes, all your joys, and all your successes. This is what she wanted me to tell you. She's proud of you. The clan is proud of you. You have avenged them. You have fulfilled your familial duty. Lay your heart to rest."

Tears welled in Sasuke's eyes unbidden. Sasuke sniffed. At her words a warmth of fire caressed his bones. "Tell mother that I love her. Tell the clan that I love them."

"They love you too."

* * *

Sasuke wished he had been brave enough to summon Luna sooner. With her help, Luna crossed realms and asked the dead the secret techniques that Sasuke would need to finally fix Kusanagi. Sasuke lost count the days he spent working in the forge, sweating, and getting closer and closer.

Sasuke has never had anything like this before – it's what Naruto had when Naruto's eyes lit with inspiration as Naruto painted ink on a canvas. It's what Sakura had when she strode into the hospital and tested medicine with the sole purpose of making the world a better place.

Sasuke realized he loved to create things out of fire, steel, and his own raw strength. It felt more earned because he hadn't had the sharingan to copy the techniques. He's worked for it.

Out of the fire came a sword deep black on both sides.

* * *

Tenten snapped the door open in a light t-shirt and boxer shorts. "What?"

She found Sasuke Uchiha on her porch, dripping wet from the spring showers, and a smile. It was the smile that took Tenten off-guard. Sasuke unsheathed a sword and held it to her like an offering.

Tenten whistled and clapped her hands with respect. "That's a fine fucking blade. Never thought Sasuke Uchiha could ever create something this beautiful."

Sasuke was on Tenten's porch because Tenten understood the craftsmanship, she understood the history of sword-making, only she could possible understand how momentous this occasion truly was.

He had no doubt in his mind, that in a few weeks, he would have completely reforged Kusanagi.

"Hey, Uchiha, come in and let's celebrate." Tenten opened the door and kicked away empty boxes of Chinese out her path. "Hohei!" Tenten screamed upstairs. "Grab the alcohol under my dresser!"

Hohei came down with two bottles of alcohol and wet from a shower. Tenten went scrounging around in her kitchen and brought back three coffee mugs because the shot glasses were dirty. "How do you survive in this?" Sasuke blatantly asked the Hyuuga.

"I don't stay more than an hour," Hohei said sourly and slammed the bottles of alcohol onto the floor, before scooping up the empty Chinese boxes and throwing them away. Then Sasuke heard the water in the kitchen begin to run and dishes chinked together.

Tenten rolled her eyes and then whispered to Sasuke rather loudly. "At this point, if I clean up he'll know I only did it because he asked me too. Then he might think I actually like him." Tenten laughed as she dived underneath a plate that was flung from the kitchen. At this point it was principle. Tenten didn't clean up just to annoy the Hyuuga.

Tenten poured a shot into a coffee mug stamped with the Konoha Police Department and into another one of gay woodblock porn. Sasuke stared at the coffee mug in scrutiny and looked up relieved when Hohei entered the room to find he was only carrying one shot glass.

"Go wash your own," Hohei said before pouring himself a shot and then whispered over to Sasuke. "When she gets drunk she'll ask you if you want to see her kunai collection. Say no."

"It's been a while, Sasuke. I heard what happened," Tenten said almost secretively. Which Sasuke didn't understand because Orochimaru's death wasn't a secret. Unless she was talking about… Sasuke glared at Hohei and almost sent his pretty face smashing into the table. He slammed the woodblock coffee mug onto the table. He didn't want to talk about this.

"I was pregnant once," Tenten whispered softly before Sasuke could get up to leave. Even Hohei turned to look at her startled. "Back then a baby wasn't a part of my plan. I didn't ask for it. And everyone looks at you all fucking disappointed in your choices when every day they go out and kill other fuckers and then they're scandalized when you tell them the choice was _easy_."

"I didn't know you were pregnant," Hohei said slowly. "Did you terminate it?"

"Adoption," Tenten shrugged. "I don't regret my choice. I wasn't in the right place back then."

Sasuke decided to drink that shot and scooted his coffee mug to ask for more. For the first time Sasuke felt as if he found someone who understood.

"It's okay not to be in the right place. It doesn't make us horrible people, just somebody caught between several bad decisions. Besides," Tenten pointed a finger at Sasuke. "You'd be a shit dad. I always saw you as one of those guys who'd accidently knock someone up and leave her to raise the kid all by herself. You'd be like those fathers always on a mission and missing half of their kids' lives."

"Thanks," Sasuke said flatly. He'd like to think he'd be better than that but even now, Sasuke could only force himself to be around Sarada for a short period of time, but after a while, he wanted nothing more than to run away.

"Just telling it like I see it." Tenten took a sip and then looked at Sasuke. "Hey, you heard Hinata is pregnant right?"

Sasuke literally coughed on his drink. "Naruto's?"

"What? Why Naruto? No, Neji. Right?" Tenten looked at Hohei. Sasuke cringed. He had forgotten that Tenten wasn't aware of the Naruto-Hinata secret. It was difficult to keep up with who knew what.

Hohei kicked Sasuke from under the table. "Yep. Neji's. They've been trying for a long time now which is why their marriage had been so strained."

"Well, hopefully it works out for them," Tenten said sourly.

"Do you still love him?" Hohei asked softly, as if he didn't really want to.

"That was a long time ago. I'm glad he's back home and I hope he's happy. Sometimes you've got to let people go." Tenten drank a shot and eyed Hohei. "And sometimes you've got to refuse to let go. The hard part is figuring out who is worth what."

Sasuke watched as they eye-fucked each other. "Are you two a thing now?"

Hohei and Tenten jolted back abruptly. Tenten laughed and then asked Hohei, as if she didn't even know the answer. "Are we a thing?"

"I'm in your dirty fucking house," Hohei grumbled.

"Well, I haven't killed him yet so yeah, I guess we're a thing." With a hiccup Tenten took another shot and turned to Sasuke. "Hey, want to see my kunai collection?"

Hohei shook his head desperately. An hour later, both Hohei and Sasuke were running down the street because the only real way, in Tenten's opinion, to evaluate a kunai is a little target practice. Even drunk, she was a good aim.

* * *

Naruto was dead serious about that complicated as fuck seal his children would need to unlock after he died. He was cackling in glee as he worked on it. It was going to be amazing. Naruto glanced over at the orphanage's new addition, a four-year-old swinging his legs on the table who looked at the lines of fuuinjutsu with apt attention.

Sasuke stepped through the open doors of the workshop and studied the pale child swinging legs on the table. It was an odd looking child – with pale blue hair and yellow eyes. Thus far, Sasuke had been observing him from a distance and he certainly wasn't thrilled at the opportunity to finally meet Orochimaru's spawn in person.

Mitsuki eyes brightened in recognition and the four-year-old spoke with the eerie depth of an adult. "You're Sasuke Uchiha. My father said you're the only shinobi in the world that can rival the Hokage. He said that if anything would happen to him, both of you would take care of me."

Sasuke's jaw clenched. Naruto stood and slapped his hands. "And I think it's your bedtime. Good night Mitsuki. Go on to bed."

"Good night, Hokage-sama." Mitsuki jumped off the table and skipped out the door, studied Sasuke with a fascinated grin and left the workshop. It took a moment for Sasuke to recollect himself and thought sourly for a moment that even Orochimaru knew Naruto wouldn't turn away his child. "You're an idiot."

"Hmhmm," Naruto hummed in agreement and turned back towards his work.

Sasuke watched Naruto begin to work on the left side of the seal. What Sasuke assumed would be a reflection of the other side turned into a chaotic art piece. Suddenly, Sasuke realized what this seal was for and almost couldn't believe Naruto was actually going to go through with it. For almost half an hour, Sasuke watched Naruto work and gave up trying to follow the logic of the forming seal.

Naruto looked up with a mischievous grin. "I heard you went drinking went Tenten. How'd that go?"

"Shut up."

Naruto sudden laughter caused the ink lines to curve. Naruto studied the unintended addition, worked around it, and further incorporated his laughter into the design. "Sasuke, no one goes drinking with Tenten. I think Lee had to go to the hospital last time because he looked like a kunai porcupine." Naruto smiled fondly at the memory. "Glad to hear you're making more friends."

Sasuke frowned. Were he and Tenten friends? He certainly didn't mind her company compared to some of the other remaining members of the Konoha 11. Yeah, guess Sasuke could admit that he and Tenten were friends.

Naruto straightened and looked at Sasuke with consideration, and then held out the ink brush. "Right now this seal is filled with my logic and Ame might be able to follow it but adding in someone else will really throw her off."

Sasuke grabbed the ink brush and looked over the massive seal. There was space in the corner and he added one of the only seals that he knew – for storage scrolls – into the corner. Then, just for shits, Sasuke added the Uchiha fan and drew an entire map of the compound within the seal. Naruto laughed as he watched what Sasuke was doing, his breath always warm against Sasuke's ear. When Sasuke finished, he handed the brush back to Naruto.

"First draft complete," Naruto said proudly. The end result looked terrifying. Naruto quickly dried the ink with a wind jutsu and then rolled the paper to hide it away for now. Sasuke casually began to help Naruto bottle up the ink and clean off his work table.

"I have a gift for you."

Naruto laughed as he sealed away the draft and mockingly teased like Sasuke had done that night. "It's not my birthday."

Sasuke unlatched a sword from his belt and placed it atop the table. Naruto looked confused who at first glance mistakenly thought the sword was Zatoichi. Then Naruto noticed the hilt. "Holy shit, you fixed Kusanagi!"

Naruto eagerly skipped over with ink stained hands and unsheathed the sword with awe. The blade was as sharp as pale moonlight.

"It's yours."

"Whoa, what?" Naruto knew how much this sword meant to Sasuke. "I can't take this. It's too important to you. You spent almost two years just trying to fix it."

"You're important to me," Sasuke said with such intensity Naruto could almost physically feel it akin to killing intent. Sasuke's bright amber eyes seemed to smolder with fire. "I carry your damn seal, its time you carried me as well."

Naruto smiled softly as he caressed his hands down the blade and plainly heard the words that Sasuke weren't saying: _I want to give you something of me. I want you to have this thing that I have created and worked for and labored over. I love you._

Despite the surprising heat and intimacy of the moment, Naruto couldn't help but break it with a tease. "Are you sure I _deserve_ it?"

Sasuke knew Naruto was only using his own words against him from the night Orochimaru died, but Sasuke took the question seriously. Sasuke leaned forward and pinned Naruto's blue eyes to his gaze. Naruto gulped. If Naruto's work table wasn't between them they'd be too close. Sasuke whispered like a small flame sparking to life. "You deserve everything."

Naruto's eyes snapped down to Sasuke lips. But before Naruto could decide on anything, Sasuke pulled away and suggested, "The katana you currently use is inferior to Kusanagi. Kusanagi will protect you. It conducts chakra well and its resilient enough to withstand all the chakra you carelessly use."

Naruto testily sent chakra along its edge. It whirled up a storm. The shutters banged open, bottles of ink crashed to the floor, and papers were knocked over. "Oh shit, Sasuke, this thing conducts chakra with ease. I'd have to be careful not to start a fucking tornado."

"It's called fucking chakra control, Naruto."

Naruto laughed with delight, like a young child with the best birthday present he's ever gotten. "Thanks, Sasuke. I really appreciate it." Naruto eyes lit up like a cloud parting. "How about we really go try it out?"

They were one the training grounds within minutes. Sasuke had already given Zatoichi to Tenten and was using the first sword he had forged. Sasuke was inclined to name it Itachi. As it was his first sword, there were slight imperfections but he was fond of the blade because of it.

Naruto pulled off his shirt where he was sporting a new seal. The seal couldn't keep Sasuke's eyes from wondering to the way his hips tapered into his pants. Sasuke looked up to a shit-eating grin. "What you looking at Sasuke?"

"The seal."

"Oh yeah," Naruto slapped his abdomen. "Very interesting."

Sasuke almost took Naruto's head off with that comment. Naruto barely deflected in time with Kusanagi. Naruto's kenjutsu wasn't terrible but it could use improvement. They shared a few blows, wind whistling and lighting screeching before Naruto jolted back with the tip of Sasuke's katana against his heart.

Sasuke sheathed his sword. Naruto plopped to the ground and combed sweat out of his hair. Naruto motioned to the cuts across his arms. "Kami, Sasuke, I sealed the Fox. I can't heal like I used to."

"Those are papercuts." Sasuke scoffed as he kneeled next to Naruto and pressed a thumb underneath a cut on Naruto's arm. They were shallow. Harmless. Naruto was just complaining. Besides, Sasuke has a nasty bruise on his ribs where Naruto had shoved Kusanagi's hilt. They shared a canteen of water.

Naruto folded his legs, slapped his hands against his knees, and faced Sasuke. There was almost a challenge on his face. "Now that Orochimaru is 'dead,' and things are getting quiet, I was thinking… maybe you and I can try this thing?"

"What?" Did Sasuke hear correctly?

"I mean," Naruto waved his hands around his general person. "You are still interested in all this sexiness right?"

Sasuke's mind blanked for half a second and he quickly caught up with the absurdity of the situation. "Naruto, I'm a guy."

"Kami, Sasuke, it's not like it's such a mystery. You've got the same shit I've got."

"What happened to the maybes and the possibilities? I'm supposed to be your last resort Naruto."

"Sasuke, you are not my last resort. Is that what you got out of all those talks?" Sasuke looked down at his hands nervously. "Honestly I'd like to think I have way more game than this and I considered kissing you but I thought it best that we talk about it first so you don't get any of my intentions confused. I want to date you Sasuke. I think we work well as a team and I'm no longer afraid of what this could be. I think we deserve it to both of ourselves to try."

Sasuke found himself flustered that Naruto was serious about this. He never considered that it was really on the table. "Naruto, I don't deserve-"

"No," Naruto said almost angrily. "You know, I get it. For a long time, I couldn't see myself as anything other than a monster. I never thought I deserved to be happy. But then you learn that the world isn't one big scale. The world is unfair. Sometimes the good guy dies too soon and the monsters have happy endings. I've done a lot of bad shit that I can't wipe my hands of and yet every day I wonder how I have so many people that love me." Naruto smiled softly. "Sometimes it's a good thing that's life isn't fair. Fuck the scales, Sasuke. Life is too short to live it weighing the past."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the shirt and shoved him forward. As they kissed, Kusanagi pressed between them as a reminder that sometimes, some things can be forged back stronger and more durable than before.

* * *

Half of the council members had fallen asleep by the time the Hokage stepped to the podium at the end of the council meeting. Even Sasuke had fallen asleep briefly during the two-hour long report on the internal affairs of Konoha where he had been listening from a side door because Naruto did love his dramatic surprises. It only took one wide grin full of mischief and the council members were nudging each other awake because they knew something was about to happen. Shikamaru, dozing off in his chair, actually woke up.

"Before we end the meeting, there is an important matter that I, the Hokage, would like to bring to the council. About a year and half ago, Konoha apprehended the criminal known as Sasuke Uchiha. I made the decision to sentence Sasuke to a lifetime in ANBU to serve the village he had once abandoned."

Half the Council, especially the Clan Heads who were former Konoha 11 were already aware that Sasuke was in the village but it came as a complete surprise to those who didn't know.

"Hokage-sama," The Civilian Representative immediately said, "Your actions involving Sasuke Uchiha is a complete overstep of your boundaries."

"That's debatable," Hinata argued from her chair. "The Hokage has complete authority over the ninja and missing ninja of the village."

"Technically," Shikamaru lazily said as if he had the leather bound law books memorized. "Since Sasuke Uchiha is an international criminal and represents a greater risk to Konoha's security, it raises the issue higher than the Hokage's authority. It should have been brought to the council for a vote."

"Debatable," Hinata said more politely. Shikamara and Hinata traded glances as if accustomed to arguing law in the council room all the time.

"And if you any of you want to petition for a trial of misconduct you have that right," Naruto agreed. "I admit that I intentionally went around the council in regard to Sasuke but there were extenuating circumstances and I feared the council held a biased view on the matter."

"And you didn't?" Ino chuckled, almost amused. "He was your old genin teammate, Hokage-sama. You're the most biased of us all."

"I did what I thought was best for Konoha. I always have and my decision to use the Uchiha to our advantage had proven the right one. Since Sasuke had been in ANBU, he has defended this village from the shadows. Sasuke, along with a small team, was the one to uncover the Akimichi plot to assassinate me, he stepped in front of a bullet for me, he single-handedly defeated Sandayuu Momochi, he gave us vital intel on Orochimaru and was the one who ultimately killed him. I know all of these things will never erase the decisions he has made in the past but I do think these accomplishments has earned him a second chance. It will be a limited second chance. As his presence will be a threat to our neighbors, he had agreed to live the life of a civilian. With all that said, I want to bring a vote to the council to forgive Sasuke Uchiha of all sins."

There was a cacophony of voices, but it was Ino's voice that cut through all of them. "Hokage-sama, why is Sasuke Uchiha worthy of a second chance when Chouji Akimichi wasn't?"

For the first time at the podium, Naruto faltered. Naruto had to take a moment to gather his answer until he finally replied, "Because Konoha isn't perfect. Because Konoha once abandoned a seven-year-old child to deal with his trauma alone. A Uchiha founded Konoha. The first name on the memorial stone is a Uchiha. The Uchiha blood runs through almost every citizen of Konoha. But slowly, beginning with the Second Hokage, Konoha began to fear the Uchiha. The Second Hokage tried to police and isolate them and his fear and hatred have led to a series of events that spiraled out of control years later with the entire Uchiha Clan dead. I can go on and keep dragging all of Konoha's shit out the shadows but everyone one of you in this room know that this village consumes you. It tears you down, breaks you into pieces, and burns you alive until there's nothing else left to give. Your light burns out and there's nothing left but a name on a stone. We abandon those that we have broken. We blame those who are missing because we're too much of a coward to blame ourselves. Chouji died taking responsibility for the actions of his clan. And it's time for Konoha to take responsibility for the actions of our own. Forgiveness is the only way we have forward. We're not only forgiving Sasuke but we're also forgiving ourselves."

Sasuke knew at that moment that Konoha was going to forgive him because shit, Naruto and talk no jutsu and even he was weighed down by Naruto's frank truths. Naruto cued Sasuke to enter. ANBU Crow tightened a reassuring grip on Sasuke's shoulder and Sasuke entered the council chamber. For the first time in years, Sasuke wore the Uchiha fan on his back. No one made a sound, no one dared.

"Sasuke Uchiha, is there anything you would like to say to the council before the vote commences?" Naruto asked.

At first Sasuke was just going to let it play out and let the pieces fall as they may but he felt bolstered with Naruto at his side. Sasuke leaned to the microphone and said frankly, "I will not apologize for Danzou. He was a dick."

The words jolted some of the council members into an awkward laugh and seemed to break the power of Naruto's words over the room.

Naruto shoved Sasuke away from the podium before Sasuke said something else that could mess this up. "Let's begin the vote."

Sasuke didn't remember what the individual votes were. It was somewhat a blur. It wasn't unanimous. What stayed with Sasuke the most was the fact that all those left alive of the former Konoha Eleven chose to forgive him even though they were the ones he had hurt the most.

"From this day forward, Sasuke Uchiha is forgiven of all sins."

* * *

When ANBU Fox entered Captain Tiger's office, the shougi board was already set up and a move made. Without a word, Fox sat in the chair and moved a piece across the board. Sasuke hadn't worn the ANBU mask in a while and he had to adjust to its weight again when he put it on.

Captain Tiger didn't waste any time getting straight to the point. "If you're done bullshitting around, I'm looking to retire and I need someone to take this cloak from me. You're my top choice."

Sasuke paused his hand hovering over a board piece and looked at the Captain as if the man had gone senile. "You want me to become the ANBU Captain whose jurisdiction is the _protection of Konoha_? You do remember that I once tried to destroyed it once? Can't Crow do it?"

"He's an excellent agent but he's more effective on the ground interacting with the people of Konoha. I need someone with the kenjutsu skills to train the new recruits, someone powerful enough to repel anything or anyone that would dare attack, and someone with the organizational skills to order around the agents in your care. Most important of all, I need someone unafraid of the Hokage and unafraid to differ in opinion. Are you ready to get off your ass and put in some work?"

"I'll think about it," Fox compromised. It was a lot to take in. Konoha was absolutely terrified of him. Sasuke could barely go grocery shopping without someone running in the other direction screaming in terror.

Captain Tiger scoffed, as if Fox said something amusing. "You live in a ninja village. People are put in certain positions because they are the best person for the job, not because they want to, but because it is their duty as a ninja to accept the task set before them. Congratulations on your promotion."

Captain Tiger moved one last piece and won the game. He stood up and took off his mask. Sasuke was momentarily stunned at the shock of bright blonde hair and blue eyes. The Captain tossed over the cloak, the Tiger mask rattled atop the table, and then disappeared from the office.

Sasuke never saw the man again.

* * *

Naruto laughed into his beer as if it was the funniest thing he had heard all the day. "When I told the man he could retire and go dark, he suggested you might be good for the position but I didn't think he was going to strong-arm you into it."

"He did it five minutes before the new recruits needed to be trained in Kenjutsu," Sasuke added.

"How did it go?" Sakura asked from across the table.

The question only sent Naruto into another round of belly-cramping laughter. Sakura watched as Sasuke seemed to lean into the sound as if Naruto's simple presence made his world lighter. They certainly weren't being very subtle.

"Sakura, he had the newest ANBU recruits _crying_ this morning. One recruit stormed into my office claiming that the Captain was trying to kill him. And at the time I hadn't known Captain Tiger had retired so I go down to the ANBU underground to see what's going on..."

"I was going easy on them. I'm failing them all in their new recruit assessment."

"And then this ass challenges me to a kenjutsu match in front of everyone in the training ground! And it's not like I can say no, I'm the Hokage."

"You were the one foolish enough to accept. You knew how it would end."

"He kicks my ass." Naruto elbowed Sasuke in the shoulder. "So I challenge him to a taijutsu match instead-"

"Naruto," Sakura interrupted gently. "Did you get any work done today?"

"What?" Naruto's eyes widened. Naruto waved his arms around helplessly. He had gone into the office today because there were several important meetings he had to attend. He didn't make it to any of them. He had forgotten to leave a shadow clone thinking he was going to come right back to the office.

Sasuke continued, "We completely destroyed the ANBU training room."

Sakura knew that explosion she felt all the way from the hospital had something do with these two idiotic knuckleheads. Thankfully, Naruto was usually with the Uzumaki Clan on most days so he and Sasuke shouldn't always collide. She could only shake her head and smile. Sakura wondered if this was how it was going to be from now on: meeting at a bar in the evening to discuss the highlights of their week. It was nice.

Sakura had purposefully chosen an empty bar because of the added volume Naruto always brought with him and the general attitude people have taken to Sasuke's presence. The bar usually hosted an older clientele later in the night and the few patrons who were in attendance had stuck to the corners and were unabashedly staring at the Hokage and Ex-S-class ninja.

Sasuke frowned as if a sudden thought occurred to him and turned to Naruto. "Have you ever seen Tiger's face? Do you know who he is?"

"Of course I do." Naruto gave Sasuke a sly look and took a drink of his beer. "I'm the Hokage."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Nope. S-class secret." Naruto gave a foxish grin. "You'll have to figure it out yourself."

Sakura watched their conversation more than she listened to their words. The subtle differences between now and several months ago were momentous. Naruto had a hand on Sasuke's knee hidden under the table, constantly rubbed his arm against Sasuke, and sometimes leaned closer than friends. Naruto was always a man who needed to touch what was his.

Sasuke was still learning. He wasn't used to public affection or affection at all really. He hasn't reached out to touch Naruto all evening. Outsiders would question Sasuke's commitment because his actions were subtler. Sakura knew that Sasuke simply allowing Naruto's constant touch spoke volumes. And there were moments when Sasuke would turn and watch Naruto while Naruto was lost in conversation. Sasuke's eyes darkened with focused intensity and in that moment, you had no doubt, nothing else in the world mattered to the Uchiha.

"Alright," Sakura slapped her hands down to regain their attention. "Is there something you two need to tell me?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and drank his beer. Naruto said proudly, "We're dating."

As the best friend in this equation, of course it was Sakura's job to tease them. "Oh? Since when?"

"Um..." Naruto squinted and looked towards Sasuke. "A week ago? The day before the council meeting."

"So have you two..." Sakura waggled her eyebrows, then she did an obscene hand gesture.

Naruto sputtered, "Sakura, inappropriate!"

"No, we haven't," Sasuke answered casually, smirking into his beer at Naruto's discomfort. "I did blow Naruto in his office today. This was after we destroyed the ANBU underground."

"Oh? And what techniques did you use?"

"You two are perverts," Naruto said as he jolted up and left to get more beer at the bar knowing that they were fucking with him. Sakura threw her head back in a laugh. Sasuke watched Naruto's ass with a smug smirk.

"Hokage-sama, I don't mean to disturb you but..." Both Sasuke and Sakura turned to look at the Jounin who approached Naruto at the bar. "Rumor around Konoha is saying that you and the Uchiha are... together?"

"Yep," Naruto said as he grabbed an armful of beer from the bartender.

"Hokage-sama," the Jounin said with every word dripping with the highest level of respect. "You deserve better, sir."

Rumors have been spreading since the day of the council meeting. Sasuke gritted his teeth at the table because this wasn't the first time someone has whispered how unworthy he was of the Hokage, or that he fucked his way back into Konoha.

Sakura pressed her foot against Sasuke's leg. "People usually don't get second chances. Don't waste this."

Sasuke knew that. He knew Konoha had him under a microscope and any small slip-up could sentence him to death. Naruto had worked too hard for Sasuke to be forgiven. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and went through his breathing exercises. "Sometimes this is harder," Sasuke admitted. Sometimes it was easier when no one knew who he was.

Out the corner of Sasuke's eye, Naruto wrapped an arm around the Jounin and leaned forward to say a few quiet words with him. The Jounin returned to his table ghastly white. Naruto sat back down with the beers and a grin. Then Naruto very blatantly placed an arm over the back of the booth, up and around Sasuke.

"I hope you two perverts are finished talking because I actually do have something important to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Sakura questioned amused.

Naruto combed through his hair. "I've been thinking about the next big initiative that I want to pursue." Naruto glanced at both Sakura and Sasuke. "I wanted to raise the Academy age from 8-12 to 10-14."

Sakura stared at Naruto dumbly. "Are you crazy Naruto? Something like that could tear Konoha apart."

"Okay, listen, there is precedence. When Konoha was founded the Academy initially began at ten but it changed during the First Shinobi War."

"But Naruto, all of the other hidden villages begin their shinobi training at eight."

"It was six in old Mist Country," Sasuke pointed out.

"Graduating children at the age of twelve is unacceptable. And I'm also talking about raising the adult age to fourteen. Only a village anticipating war needs child soldiers. Look, this peace is going to last. I will fight my last breath to see that it does."

"But Naruto, how can you possibly justify such a change when it puts us at a disadvantage against the other villages?"

"Someone has got to make the first step."

"No one is going to see it that way. Naruto, I get the drugs, I understood the Akimichi, but this? It will turn our friends into enemies and test loyalties. You're going to rip Konoha apart."

"Sakura, can you honestly say you think we were ready for this shit at twelve years old? If we are at peace, how do you justify thrusting a twelve-year old into situations where they might die?"

"Not every mission is our bridge mission. And there are the Jounin Sensei. They are there to protect the children."

"Sakura, you are spouting the bullshit and propaganda that Konoha has been feeding you for years. And it's been going for so long that everyone automatically buys into it. But it does not have to be this way. It wasn't, a long time ago."

For the first time, Sasuke reached out and wrapped his fingers through Naruto's hand. Sasuke wanted to believe in Naruto's peace because it was the same peace Itachi had once killed and died for. "Let the assassins come. They will not harm you. For they will have to get through me. Let your enemies test us for I will burn them all. I promise to forever stand by your side and we will make this peace last."

Sakura was terrified by the declaration. Uchiha and Uzumaki were together again and the world caught fire by the sheer force of their will.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were finally making their way home in the wee hours of the night. They were on the edge of sober, having burnt most of the alcohol from the bar singing and dancing. Naruto's voice was still a little hoarse from the hours of karaoke.

Naruto pulled Sasuke into his doorway by his shirt. "I told Ame to make sure the kids were in their own beds tonight. Want to come upstairs?"

"Are you ready for that?" Sasuke questioned and dropped his hands to Naruto's hips. They were going rather fast and he needed to make sure Naruto was comfortable with everything.

"Geez, Sasuke, we're not wet behind the ears genin. Yes, let's have sex, and I'm well aware we both have two dicks." That was all Sasuke needed to hear. Naruto grinned and led Sasuke upstairs.

Naruto knew Sasuke was unaware but it was a big deal inviting Sasuke into his bedroom. He hasn't had sex on this bed in years. Most of the clan didn't know about Hinata and once the orphanage had opened up, Naruto had bought the island to keep his and Hinata's proclivities a secret. But he didn't have to be secretive with Sasuke.

Once they entered the room and Naruto locked the bedroom door, he fixed Sasuke with a serious expression. "I want to bottom."

"What?" Sasuke asked, not at all thinking that's how this night was going to go. "I don't think it's a good idea for our first time."

"Sasuke, I didn't eat tonight because that's what you're supposed to do right? I've been reading gay porn for the past two weeks. I have had the most embarrassing conversation of my life with Lee several days ago. I have an idea what I'm asking for. I've _prepared_."

"Why?" Sasuke was frankly perplexed.

"To know if it's an option on the table for us." Naruto had already in no uncertain terms said he wasn't putting a dick in his mouth. "And I've never let Hinata or anyone back there so… this is something for you."

Sasuke's dick twitched at the mere idea of bending the Hokage over. But there was hesitation.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"What if it doesn't work out between us?" Sasuke asked. "This feels like a line once crossed it can't be undone."

"Even if it doesn't work out, we'll remain friends. But you're being a pessimist." Naruto dragged Sasuke hands down from his hips and around to his ass. Sasuke groaned. "If I don't like butt sex then at least we'll know. We can say we tried. I'm not going to break up with you over it unless it's a deal breaker for you."

It was a lot of pressure to make sure it was enjoyable enough that Naruto might want to do it again. Sasuke dragged his forefinger down the cleft of Naruto's ass and pressed against the cloth to tease at the hole. Naruto knew Sasuke was testing him and Naruto arched further in challenge. Naruto made an exaggerated moan in his ear, more like eating ramen than getting fingered, but Sasuke could see that yes, Naruto was determined to see this through.

A smug bastard of a grin spread across Naruto's face when Sasuke nodded in surrender. Sasuke had to kiss Naruto just to wipe that smug grin off his face and shoved his tongue down Naruto's throat for good measure. They stripped themselves of their clothes on the way to the bed. Naruto broke their kiss abruptly, jumped back, and then flopped down in all his naked glory on the bed. The spiral seals of a hundred souls were tattooed on Naruto's back.

Naruto looked up over his shoulder with his former bravado gone. It almost startled Sasuke how young Naruto looked and Sasuke immediately realized that in the bedroom, Naruto completely disregarded the Hokage persona with his clothes. There was a vulnerability here in the bedroom that Naruto would never allow in public. Naruto said softly, "I trust you."

Sasuke had never heard more frightening words. It almost sent him in a blind panic out the door but the weight of his erect cock anchored him here to the bed. Sasuke tightened his eyes closed and took a moment to collect himself. Trust was a dangerous thing for a ninja. And there was so much past between he and Naruto that Sasuke couldn't comprehend how Naruto could be stupid enough to trust him like this.

Sasuke opened his eyes when Naruto's foot nudged the inside of his thigh. Naruto had pulled up on his side and said after a moment, "If you're not ready for this, we don't have to."

"No, I-" Sasuke felt overwhelmed that Naruto could open himself up so candidly. Sasuke had the most intimate parts of Naruto peeled open at his fingertips and he had to be careful to put everything back where he had found it. A broken sob fell out of Sasuke, "How could you possibly forgive me? I've hurt you so much."

Naruto pulled forward and rocked Sasuke into his lips, kissing him with so much heat and fervor until Sasuke met each swipe of the tongue and each teasing bite with as much challenge. Sasuke groaned, almost addicted with the way Naruto just climbs into his mouth. Naruto kissed him with abandon, ran his hand over Sasuke's body, until Sasuke had no doubt that Naruto wanted him just as he was. Naruto pulled back, lips red and spit shining on his lips. "Everyone is going to hurt you, Sasuke. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for."

"I fear I'll never be good enough for you," Sasuke replied hoarsely.

"You are good enough and I'll tell you that every day until you believe it."

"You're Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto laughed. "And you're Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha, Destroyer of Armies, the student the survived Orochimaru, and the man who turned the Hokage gay."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and affectionately pulled Naruto back in for another kiss. Finally, Sasuke felt as if he could finally shake his anxious nerves. Without warning, Sasuke swiftly hooked an arm under Naruto's knees and sent him off balance falling back into the bed. Sasuke kissed down Naruto's neck, laved at his nipple, and journeyed quickly to Naruto's inner thigh. Naruto's dick twitched, anticipating where Sasuke might end but Sasuke completely swerved and parted Naruto's ass cheeks with his fingers.

"Of fuck," Naruto cursed when Sasuke flattened his tongue against Naruto's tight ring of muscle.

Naruto was hot and tight when Sasuke gradually unfurled his tongue inside the Kage. Sasuke massaged each lobe and ate out Naruto's ass until he pulled up for breath and commanded, "Touch yourself."

Naruto snapped to his command without hesitation. Naruto reached up for the bottle of lube. To hear Naruto masturbating while Sasuke rimmed him only further deepened Sasuke's hunger. The slick sound of Naruto's hand stroking his dick fell into the rhythm Sasuke set with his tongue. Naruto's body tensed, tighten, trembled. Naruto managed to snatch the towel from the side of the bed and catch himself before he came. The feeling of Naruto unraveling around his tongue went straight to Sasuke's straining dick. Sasuke clenched his dick in his hand and forced himself to hold off. He didn't want to cum until he was inside Naruto.

"That was a good start," Naruto breathed. Naruto threw an arm over his eyes and straightened his legs.

"Good," Sasuke said. While Naruto rested, Sasuke got up and washed his mouth out in the bathroom. He doubted Naruto would want to kiss him if he tasted like ass. Sasuke grabbed for the lube and knew it would take some time to properly open Naruto since he hadn't done this before.

Naruto glanced up at Sasuke as he came back from the bathroom and the sight of Naruto loose and pliable made Sasuke surprisingly angry. There were no defenses raised. Anyone could come into this room and slip a knife between Naruto's ribs. Sasuke could slip a knife between Naruto's ribs and break everything. Naruto shouldn't be sharing this with him.

Naruto smiled at Sasuke, then turned over and laid down on his back expectantly, exposing his backside and Sasuke stared at all the vulnerable parts where a kunai could easily slip in. But Naruto was wide and open and urging him to bed. Naruto didn't even have a kunai under his pillow.

"On your knees," Sasuke directed and Naruto arched his back, exposed and licked open for Sasuke to further ravage. Sasuke almost lost control at the sight of the Hokage of Konoha on his hands and knees for him. And suddenly, Sasuke wanted more. He gripped his hands on Naruto's waist and arched his back, pulled his legs open further, and pulled apart the lobes of his ass.

"It's cold," Sasuke warned before he massaged a lubed finger around Naruto's asshole. Naruto flinched at the initial slap of cold but otherwise closed his eyes and focused on Sasuke's fingers. The first finger slipped in easily due to Sasuke's diligence with his tongue. Naruto even looked over his shoulder and asked, "You do anything yet?"

Sasuke curled his finger until Naruto's eyes widened and could feel Sasuke intimately inside of him. The second finger was the hardest. Naruto felt it at his rim and immediately tensed, his ass squeezing a deathly grip around Sasuke's fingers.

"Naruto, you've got to relax," Sasuke soothed

Naruto clawed at the sheets of the bed and tried to will his body into accepting the intrusion. Sasuke whispered lowly, "If you can't relax, I'm going to end this. I'm not going to fuck you like this."

"I'm sorry, I just…" Naruto sputtered a sardonic laugh. "Do you know that the only person I've had up my ass is Sakura because she does my prostate exams? Awkward as fuck. That's kind of where my head went."

Sasuke leaned forward and wrapped his hand around Naruto's cock. Naruto closed his eyes and groaned into the strokes of Sasuke's hand. Sasuke could feel Naruto loosen and gently, inch my inch, crawled in a second finger. They stayed connected like this for some time – Sasuke jerking Naruto off in loose lazy strokes until Naruto hips were canting slightly, further back onto Sasuke's fingers. Naruto dropped his head back against Sasuke's shoulder, effectively fucking himself and chasing his climax as sweat gathered on his lip.

Sasuke pulled and tugged Naruto loose until he could slip in three fingers. Sasuke twisted his fingers and actually remembered what angle he needed to find the prostate from Iraiya. Naruto whined, like an animal lost and in need. "Sasuke, hurry and get your damn dick out before I cum."

Sasuke imagined this going slow and gentle, all romantic and shit like in the books and movies but like everything with Naruto, everything moved fast. Within seconds, Sasuke had shoved Naruto back down on his hands and was slathering his dick with lube. Sasuke didn't even think about the condom on the nightstand, just Naruto's need and his own desire to be inside.

Sasuke squeezed his hands in horror around Naruto's hips when he had thrust inside too fast too much, only catching himself when he bottomed out. He knew for a fact that it had been painful. Naruto was stock still underneath him. Sasuke peppered kisses along Naruto's spine apologetically. Naruto grunted, "There's a dick in my ass."

They panted against each other heavily as if the room was on fire and there was not enough oxygen. It allowed for a much needed reprieve, a soft moment before this turned dirty and rough. Because Sasuke was an idiot to think anything between them could be gentle, even their first time.

"Alright Sasuke," Naruto said, words of challenge, when he was ready, "Fuck me."

Sasuke managed two slow strokes before he inevitably sped up. Naruto's ass was a slick hot welcomed every time Sasuke rocked forward. Naruto's hard-on had faded somewhat during the initial entry but it was regaining renewed interest as his body molded around Sasuke. The pain was ebbing and a rising tide of pleasure crashed through Naruto's ears. Naruto fucked his dick into the sheets and then arched back to meet every one of Sasuke's thrusts.

It was mesmerizing to Sasuke the way his dick sunk into Naruto and knew he wanted to do this on the Kage's desk, on the Kage Mountain, anywhere he could leave an imprint of Naruto's hands and knees. Sasuke kissed the arching spine of Naruto's back, encouraged him to arch further, knowing from sparring how much he could push and demand of Naruto's body. Sasuke reached the angle he was looking for and Naruto moaned loud enough to wake the kids.

Sasuke leaned down and teased darkly. "How many people have put the Hokage on his knees?"

"Teme!" Naruto spat out, trying to hold on, but needing this from Sasuke as if their bodies had been demanding it from them for years.

Sasuke's was burning up inside and suddenly his body couldn't contain his own fire. His skin was sensitive to the touch as if his skin had been burned off. He could feel everything painfully and keenfully. He wanted everything of Naruto and wanted to give Naruto everything in return.

"Fuck, teme, teme, teme," Naruto shouted like a lewd litany.

They were fighting one another. Neither had realized it until the end with each grunting to hold on as long as possible. It was a tie. They exploded like the last throes of a dying star.

Naruto opened his eyes to his face panting into the pillow. His orgasm punched through him so forcefully he blacked out momentarily. Naruto felt it through his dick, his stomach, and his ass and wondered how at almost thirty years old that this could be one of the best orgasms of his life. And what the fuck, they came at the same time. Who does that the first time with a new partner?

The world was shifting apart, creating new universes and pulling them together.

"I don't think sex is going to be a problem," Naruto mumbled and shifted uncomfortable in the cum sticky sheets. Hinata was curves and sex under moonlight. Sasuke was hard lines and fire. He loved them both in their own way.

"We should take a shower," Sasuke mumbled after he finally slipped his limp dick out Naruto's ass. With the motion, Naruto could feel Sasuke's cum shift inside him which made him ever sleepier because it reminded him that there had been a dick in his ass and he didn't want to get the fuck up.

Naruto yawned as he twisted as wrapped Sasuke in his arms. They lay there sweaty and hot and melting into each other's skin. Sasuke smiled as he settled down in Naruto's arms, not even caring that he was the little spoon. In that moment, Sasuke was beginning to comprehend how wholly and fully Naruto loved him.

Sasuke began thinking - if Naruto could forgive him, it was about time for Sasuke Uchiha to start forgiving himself.

* * *

Naruto had glitter on his face.

That was the first thing Sasuke noticed when he woke up. Sasuke's lips ticked up into smirk, then a smile, until Sasuke was laughing. Naruto groggily woke up at the sound and broke into a smile at the sight of Sasuke's beside him.

"Nice makeup, dobe."

"Huh?"

"You've got glitter on your face."

"Glitter? What the fuck?" Naruto pulled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom with a noticeable limp. Naruto reached and scratched at the inside of his thigh. Sasuke's jaw dropped open to watch Naruto's entire backside sparkle with pink glitter in the morning sun. Sasuke pulled out of bed and followed Naruto into the bathroom.

Both men stared into the mirror in horror. Naruto wasn't the only one covered in pink glitter. It was everywhere – all over the both of them. Naruto suddenly raced back into the room, brought back the bottle of lube they had used last night and slammed it down on the counter – pink glitter lube. They both blinked at the label for several moments before Naruto muttered darkly, "Ame."

Sasuke crowed in laughter. "I don't know what's worse: that we're covered in pink glitter or that you've been out-pranked."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, but he was grinning as he pushed Sasuke into the shower and started the water. "Alright," Naruto admitted. "She got me."

Sasuke pressed Naruto against him and teased into his ear. "How are we going to get her back?"

Naruto licked his lips, excited by the challenge. Naruto complained as Sasuke took Naruto's dick in hand in an effort to "clean" it, "I can't think with you doing that."

Sasuke leaned forward and sucked his lips along Naruto's collar. "I'm sure the prankmaster of Konoha can think of something no matter what I'm doing," Sasuke teased. Before Naruto could think of something good or cum in Sasuke's hand, there was a pounding on the bedroom door. The bathroom door was open and they could easily hear the shout from the other side of the bedroom wall.

"DAD!" Boruto yelled. " _DAD_! DADADADADADAD!"

"Fuck." Naruto reached for the cold water and effectively killed both of their good time. "Sorry," Naruto apologized.

Sasuke shook his head. "Never apologize to me for the kids. I know how much they mean to you."

Naruto smiled softened in the steam of the shower. Sasuke helped Naruto wash quickly and used healing chakra to ease Naruto's soreness from last night activities. Naruto got out the shower, got dressed, and created shadows clone to strip the bed and clean the sheets.

Naruto unlocked the door before the four-year old found a way to bust the door down. Naruto's hair was still dripping water on the floorboards. "Yes, Boruto?"

Boruto gave a great grin. "Ame told me to wake you up. It's time for breakfast!" Boruto chirped before rushing down the stairs. Now that the door was open, Naruto could smell pancakes coming from the first floor. Naruto groaned at the antics of his children and then smiled as Sasuke came behind him with a kiss to the neck, and then walked, dressed, downstairs for pancakes.

Ame met Naruto with the most-smarmy shit-eating grin he had ever seen. She and some of the older kids had woken up early to make breakfast. There were stacks of pancakes covering every surface and most of the clan were already up and running through the house.

"Hey Dad you missed some glitter." Ame made a swipe at her neck.

"This will not be forgotten," Naruto swore and rubbed vigorously at his neck. "Is it off?

"My bad, that's just hickies," Ame cackled.

" _Very funny_ ," Naruto snatched a whole tower of pancakes and carried them outside to the outdoor patio and eating area. Ame stilled Sasuke with a spatula before he could reach for his own plate.

Ame eyed him. "You break my Dad's heart and I break you, got it?"

Sasuke smiled at the teenage girl threatening him. "Got it."

"Good," Ame leaned forward with a twinkle in her eye. "And since you're the coolest uncle and all, you're going to give me a heads up on whatever devilish prank Dad is going to come up with next?"

Sasuke raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Are you suggesting I spy on your dad?"

Ame winked.

Sasuke answered by poking two fingers against her forehead and grabbing a plate of pancakes. He walked outside to the rows of essentially picnic tables in the main house' backyard. There was already a pancake food fight in the corner. Tomu and Sarada had already come up from the cottage and were sharing a table with Naruto. Sasuke didn't flinch when Luna suddenly leapt onto his shoulder, who had been running away from a horde of children and used his shoulder to move out of their reach.

Luna's tail wrapped around his shoulder. "This is a crazy clan. I like it."

"Me too," Sasuke said softly as he joined the table beside Naruto. Sasuke glanced over the hickies barely covered by Naruto's shirt that Konoha would no doubt take notice of by the end of the day. Sasuke listened to Naruto's laugh, and Tomu's exasperated sighs, and the general mayhem of the Uzumaki Clan in the morning. He wanted this. He wanted to wake up every morning to Naruto, chaos, and pancakes. He wanted to ditch work with a shadow clone and follow Naruto on his adventures. He wanted to build a future. He wanted to hold on to this feeling and never let go.

Sasuke pushed his leg against Naruto's knee. Naruto looked over with bright blue eyes, reached to thread his hand through Sasuke's, and leaned toward Sasuke as if he was the only source of warmth Naruto would ever need. In that moment Sasuke knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would give up his last name.

* * *

**A happy ending is a choice.**

* * *

x


End file.
